Fanfare
by Phantom of a Rose
Summary: Kurt Hummel is everything Blaine wants to be: out and proud, talented, and courageous. Blaine would love to tell him how he feels, but then, Kurt Hummel is a famous singer and actor and he will never know that Blaine even exists. Right?
1. Chapter 1

**And here we have a brand new multi-chapter fic, based on the amazing gif edits from dont-stab-darren over on Tumblr! Make sure you go check it out in her gif/edit tags! **

**I have the first three chapters done so far, so I hope to finish this up soon! I'm thinking maybe 5 or 6 chapters over all. I hope you like it! Feedback would be awesome!**

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Blaine Anderson looked through his school bag, trying to find his history book for the next class. He sighed, reaching up to dial in his locker combination while humming softly. His history book was laying right there as he opened the locker door, and he was just reaching for it when suddenly he was falling forward, face just missing the blunt edge of his locker door.

"Morning homo!" called one of the football players, a chorus of laughs following him.

Blaine pushed himself up, groaning as the pain suddenly hit him. He looked down at his feet, wanting to disappear into the floor. He'd been going to McKinley high school for just over two months now, after having to transfer away from Dalton Academy in Westerville.

His dad's idea, of course.

Since transferring and joining the local Glee Club, New Directions (which was much less organized than the Warblers, but Blaine liked it), he had been quickly called every name in the book, including gay.

Of course, most of the taunts came before he'd actually come out here, and when the jocks actually found out that he was _actually _gay -

Well, it had been rough.

Blaine took a deep breath, eyes wandering up the door to his locker to the photo he kept tacked up at the very top. It was a tasteful black and white photo from a magazine spread, taken from a summer issue of "OUT."

It was of Kurt Hummel, the guy Blaine had the biggest crush on.

Of course, Kurt was famous and didn't know Blaine even _existed_.

Kurt Hummel was a year older than him and had hit it big when he was 15 by co-staring in a film with George Clooney as the character's gay son. After that he had more roles in movies, popular among the LGBT crowd and adding a lot of pull to that community. The moment Blaine fell head over heels for him, however, was the roll he had sung in two years ago.

Kurt…had the voice of an angel. It was for a movie where Kurt's character goes to a karaoke bar and sings an emotional rendition of "Blackbird" by the Beatles.

If Blaine hadn't been sure he was gay before that, well, he certainly was sure then.

Since then, Kurt had put out an album of covers, both Broadway and mainstream, and had just put together his own original album.

But it wasn't like Blaine just liked Kurt because he was a fantastic singer and actor. It was him as a person.

Just below the photo was a colorful collage of the word "Courage". That had been in the "OUT" article, too. Blaine remembered what Kurt had said in the interview by heart. He had been asked how it had been to be suddenly out the moment he hit the Hollywood limelight.

"_After I came out to my dad, everything else was easy by comparison. I just try not to worry about all the hate." _

Then he'd been asked what advice he would give to any gay or questioning youth out there.

"_Courage. Above all, you have to have courage." _

Blaine wished Kurt could know how much he'd probably saved Blaine in the past. When everything with his family wasn't perfect, there was Kurt and all his courage to turn to. If he could be as out and proud, so could Blaine.

Blaine looked away from the photo. But then, Blaine was just some kid in Lima, Ohio, and though Kurt was originally from the small town, the way he spoke about it in interviews ("The bullies were horrible. The town is filled with a lot of closed-minded people.") he would never be coming back.

"Blaine!" said Rachel Berry, one of Blaine's best friends since coming to McKinley. She was a little over the top, but then, Blaine liked that about her. She knew what she wanted. "You have to look at this duet I had planned for next week! It will suit our voices _perfectly_."

Blaine smiled at Rachel, taking one last look at the photo and grabbing his book before shutting the locker door. "I'd love to, Rachel," said Blaine, trying to sound as cheerful as Rachel did.

0000

" - I personally feel like we should showcase one of these duets between Blaine and I, then perhaps a song with Mercedes -"

" - oh no, I think Sectionals this year should have some Latina flavor -"

"Santana, you were showcased _last _year at Sectionals -"

"_And we won_. Obviously, that speaks for itself.

"We tied with the Warblers. And who was the lead singer then? _Blaine_. Obviously his vocals are needed to win -"

" - So suddenly this year becomes the Blaine and Rachel show? You are not screwing up my senior year, Berry!"

Blaine sighed, eyes drifting pass Rachel and Santana, arguing over Sectionals (as they usually did during lunch, if not Sectionals, it was Santana lodging personal attacks in Rachel's direction) and looked at Mike Chang, shrugging. Personally, he really like Mike's voice. They were in the musical this year together, West Side Story, and he was just as good in his own way. He could dance circles around them all, too.

Blaine's phone vibrated in his cardigan pocket just as Santana began to mutter things to Rachel in Spanish (never a good sign, which Blaine had learned within a week of being in Glee club here). He pulled it out, happy for the distraction. He never wanted to be the star of Glee club here. He loved singing, but he was also a junior and new here - he hadn't actually thought he'd get a solo anytime soon. But then, New Directions knew his past with the Warblers, and that he could hold his own on stage…

He sighed, looking down at his phone. His heart jumped and smile was already working its way on his face: it was a Twitter alert from Kurt Hummel.

KurtHummel: The allure of all these clothes are too much for me! xo

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He opened the twitpic photo, smiling widely at the no doubt designer store photo. If there was one thing Kurt Hummel was, it would be a fashion fiend. He always looked stunning on and off the red carpet, while also pushing the fashion boundaries, though not as extreme as Lady Gaga. Mostly, Kurt liked to say, with a small smile into the mic of an interviewer, "Fashion has no gender."

Especially when he had worn a kilt to the Golden Globes, paying tribute to the royal wedding.

Blaine sighed, wondering what shopping with Kurt would be like…he'd probably hate what Blaine wore. Mostly, Blaine stuck to bowties, high waters and cardigans.

"Blaine! Tell Santana that she is being _completely _unfair!"

"You better hold your tongue, hobbit, if you ever want it curled around any dick in the immediate future," hissed Santana.

Blaine dropped his phone, narrowly missing the plate of, uh, "food", on his tray.

"Santana!"

"What, so he's a blushing virgin, we all knew that," scoffed Santana.

"Look, I don't want to take anyone's spot light," said Blaine, looking down to get his phone (and hide his blush). "I would be happy to do a duet with Rachel, or anyone for that matter, as long as I can audition. And Santana, your voice is amazing, all the Warblers thought so last year."

Santana looked pleased at this, glaring over at Rachel with a superior expression. "And I think perhaps both you and Mercedes taking leads on another song would be great. Maybe Brittany, Quinn and Tina giving you back up vocals?" Blaine suggested. "Then the guys can take on a song after that?"

Everyone at the table paused, thinking it over for a few moments. "He does have a point," said Finn Hudson, looking put out to admit it. "It seems, like, fair."

"Blaine, you should present that idea to Mr. Shuester," said Rachel with a smile. "I'm sure he would love it!"

Blaine smiled at Rachel, thankful that everyone seemed to like the idea. "I'll do that Rachel." He looked away from her for a moment, sparing one more look at Kurt's tweet before turning off his phone and stuffing it back in his pocket, lunch almost over.

0000

"Can't I change the song?" asked Rachel as they drove from her house to the Lima Bean.

"I like this song," said Blaine, frowning over at her for a moment before putting his eyes forward again. Blaine had Kurt's cover CD on his ipod playing, which was now on "Le Jazz Hot".

"While I admit that Kurt Hummel has excellent vocals," said Rachel. "And is amazingly talented for someone so young, something I would kill for (a big break that is), we listen to him all the time, Blaine. Can't I put on my Wicked soundtrack? I know you have it on your iPod. I made sure it was there the last time I was over and synced it."

"Kurt has a cover of 'Defying Gravity'," said Blaine. "It is amazing, Rachel - he even hit's the note at the end that even you struggled with that one time and -"

"I know, Blaine," said Rachel, rolling her eyes. "I swear, I know just as much Kurt trivia as you do, I hear about it all enough."

"I don't complain when you drive and only play Barbra," Blaine reminded her. Rachel let out a huff, crossing her arms in front of her (a sure signal that he had won this round). Blaine laughed just as one of Kurt's original songs from his new album came up and he reached over to turn it up, belting out the beginning of the song himself.

"I just don't understand it, Blaine."

"What? Ordering coffee? It's pretty simple -"

"_Blaine_."

Blaine laughed, stepping forward in line at the Lima Bean. This was their usual haunt since Blaine started hanging out with Rachel at the beginning of the year ("Every gay man needs an attractive hag, Blaine!") where they would go to discuss Glee club over coffee and a cookie.

"I just don't understand why you love Kurt Hummel so much," said Rachel.

"You like Barbra just as much," said Blaine defensively. \

"She is a _legend_, Blaine," said Rachel, as if explaining it for the millionth time. "Kurt Hummel has been in the spotlight for three years. You don't know if he's even going to last. Really, he probably is just a fad. The real test will be if he can make it big five years from now, when he doesn't look as young as he does, getting the roles of teens."

Blaine really tried not to take the insult personally, because that would be weird, right? Blaine didn't even know the guy…

"I feel like he'll survive the test of time," said Blaine. He had grabbed his coffee and biscotti, walking over to their usual table in the corner. "I don't see why you're so…down on him. He's an amazing inspiration for the LGBT community. He's like, well, Neil Patrick Harris, only he really reaches out to the youngest people who could be gay or questioning. He gives people hope. You of all people should welcome that change. Before him, no gay teen has really had the same impact."

Rachel sighed heavily, taking a sip of her chai latte. "Yes, yes, he's amazing in that respect as well."

"And he donated both his time and money to Trevor Live this year," said Blaine.

"Yes yes," repeated Rachel. "I get it, Blaine. But really…this level of devotion you hold for him is unhealthy."

"_What_?"

_You could talk, _Blaine thought, but didn't say. He wasn't sarcastic or spiteful, like Santana after all.

"I know when someone has a crush, Blaine," said Rachel. "It's really cute, that you look up to him like that, but it's just that, Blaine - a crush. You need to remember that. Blaine, you're getting obsessed. I've seen the photos in your locker and binders. He's a _celebrity_; he'll probably never even know you exist."

Blaine's heart dropped. He knew Rachel was right on the last notion. "But…he's just so perfect," said Blaine with a sigh. He looked down at his coffee.

Rachel grew sober, looking at Blaine and saying carefully, "No one is perfect, Blaine."

Blaine wasn't sure of that. Kurt Hummel came pretty damn close. He was always so…put together. He knew the right thing to say, in interviews and on the red carpet.

"I think I'm ok, Rachel," said Blaine, trying to humor her. "Really. You are free to stage an intervention if you feel like I'm about to like, stalk him or something. That is where I wish to draw the line."

"Deal," said Rachel, reaching out with her pinky. Blaine laughed, reaching out and linking his pinky with hers for a moment, then sliding away and twisting their hands with spirit fingers. The paused, then Rachel said with a laugh. "We just did the gay high five."

"Yeah," laughed Blaine.

0000

It was a week and a half later that Blaine was home, doing his homework, music playing softly in the background, and his phone vibrated on the bed next to him. Blaine reached for it, ready to take a break from math anyway. When he saw it was a tweet, well, that was even better (if it had been Rachel asking her opinion on a skirt to wear tomorrow, that might have been worse than homework).

KurtHummel: I have some amazing news for all of you guys! Stay tuned!

Unexplained nervousness suddenly creeped its way into Blaine's stomach, making him sit straight up on his bed. He started down at the phone. He wondered how long he wanted them to "stay tuned"….

The answer came just two minutes later. The phone ringing off in his hand surprised him, and he fumbled to open the text.

KurtHummel: I'm doing my first tour! Crazy right? I hope I'm coming to a city near you!

Following the message was a link to a ticket website.

Blaine didn't even want to admit how quickly he flew off the bed and to his laptop on his desk, opening the link for tickets as quickly as he could. He scrolled through the 20 stop tour, punching the air when he saw "Columbus, OH" as the second concert.

Which was in a _month_.

Suddenly glad that he had started putting away his saved money from birthday and Christmas in his account, Blaine was reaching for his wallet and pulling out his debit card before it had even really registered. He was also dialing Rachel's number, holding the phone between his shoulder and ear as he navigated the website.

"Hello, Rachel Berry speaking," greeted Rachel (as she always did, though she knew it was him).

"Rachel! Kurt Hummel is coming _here_. Well, not _here_, but two hours away! He's doing a concert! I'm _so _going, but tell me if you can, too. It would be much more fun with someone!"

"Slow down," huffed Rachel. "What day is the concert?" she asked and Blaine could hear her flipping through her planner. He rolled his eyes and read out the date. After a moment, she tutted. "Oh I can't, Blaine. That's the weekend of my dad's anniversary. We always have a lot of family stuff planned for that weekend…"

Blaine sighed, a little disappointed. Even if Rachel wasn't a huge fan, she would be someone to go with. "That's ok," he said, clicking and adding one ticket to his cart. It was a perfect seat, just after the VIP tickets (which he could no way afford).

"Maybe you could find someone else to go with?" suggested Rachel.

"I don't want to wait and not get a ticket," he said. "It's really ok. Going alone will be fine. I can make conversation with the people around me."

"That's the spirit!" said Rachel. "You always find the most interesting people at events like that. And, wow, he's coming to Ohio? You must be on cloud nine."

"Well, he is from Ohio," said Blaine. "I knew he would probably be coming, the second I saw the announcement. But I had to see it to believe it." Blaine finished typing in his credit card information. "Oh god. I just bought tickets to see Kurt Hummel live. I think I'm going to puke."

"Deep breaths," laughed Rachel. "I'm happy for you."

"I'm going to go dance around the room now, Rachel," said Blaine in a calm tone, which made Rachel giggle into the receiver. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, fan boy," said Rachel.

Blaine wasn't lying when he said he was going to dance around the room.

0000

When he told his parents about the concert, they weren't exactly thrilled, but then he had used his own money so they couldn't forbid it. That meant his mother was mostly worried about him driving to Columbus and back again that night.

"If you're too tired, please pull over and get a hotel," she told him at least a dozen times. "Use our money. I'd rather you come back the next day than not come home at all. And get coffee before you leave the city, if you need to."

"Of course, Ma," said Blaine for the last time as he was climbing into his car for the big day. The last month had dragged by slowly, the date on the calendar growing closer and closer. The first concert, which was just two days ago, had gone off amazingly and Blaine couldn't even handle the one video he'd let himself watch. Kurt was _amazing _live.

"Call me when you get there," she said. "And when you're on your way back. I don't care how late it is when the concert gets out."

"I promise, Ma," said Blaine. "I'll be safe. I swear." He sighed, getting out of the car for a moment and kissing his mom's forehead.

"Bye, sweetie," she said as he got in the car again, buckling up.

Now, Blaine was finally on the highway, practically vibrating in his seat. He had his Kurt playlist blasting, a mix of his covers and originals filtering through the car speaker. He couldn't believe he was on his way to his _concert_. He was in Ohio, right now. When Kurt had tweeted yesterday afternoon about it, Blaine had given Rachel a heart attack with his reaction.

KurtHummel: Oh, Ohio. I would say I missed you…but then, I just saw a grown man in PJ's in the airport.

KurtHummel: Really? And a woman in leggings without any pants. God help me.

KurtHummel: But I am looking for the concert tomorrow! Only the most fashionable will attend my concert, after all!

"Oh my _god_, did someone die?" Rachel had shrieked.

"He's in _Ohio_, Rachel!"

Rachel had thrown her pinkest pillow at him then.

Blaine laughed at the memory, then perked up when he saw the Columbus turn off on the freeway. He follows the directions from mapquest to the theatre, excited to see a small group of people already there, though the concert isn't for a few more hours. Blaine parks (because if he waits, it will be murder) then over to the ticket office to pick up his actual ticket.

Once that was safely tucked in his wallet, Blaine spotted a small diner across the street. He had dinner there, then went back over to the theatre, texting Rachel his excitement as he did. She was having some family time with her dads, but would text him back as much as she could.

In line, Blaine struck up conversation with two girls around his height. "We're from here in Columbus. We can't believe he's here!" said the blonde one of the two.

"I came from around two hours away," said Blaine. "I can't either. Even if my friend couldn't come with me, I had to go. He's _such _an inspiration."

"Totally," said the brunette. "And so hot."

Blaine blushed. "Yes, well, that too, obviously."

"Oooh, you're gay then?" asked the blonde.

"Yeah," said Blaine softly. "That's why - I get bullied a lot. His stories about overcoming that are just…they get me through the day."

"Aww," the two girls said.

Soon, they were ushered inside and Blaine parted with the two girls, going up to his seat. It wasn't the biggest theatre in Columbus, but it was sizeable, and Blaine's seats were _perfect_. Not right up front, but they were mostly center with the stage and close enough.

When people began to sit on either side of Blaine, a guy in his 20's on his right and a family on the other side, he started talking to them: What are your favorite songs? Movie? Stuff like that kept them gushing and occupied until the show was just about to begin. The lights dimmed and multi-colored lights lit up the stage. The tension was building in the theatre and Blaine got to his feet, like everyone else around him were. Then -

"Hello there, Columbus!"

The crowd screamed well, so did Blaine. He wasn't ashamed of that.

"I'm so glad you could all come out to night," said Kurt, his voice echoing in the microphone. God, he looked amazing in tight black jeans, a colorful shirt and bowtie with a vest over it. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

Kurt started out with one of his more upbeat original songs, and Blaine was glad that everyone else seemed to be joining along (Rachel had urged him to save his voice and not, but then, he had all weekend to recover, so he went for it).

The set continued, going from original to cover for two more songs. Then Kurt smiled out into the crowd. "I'm going to slow it down a little bit now," he said. "I hope you like it!"

Then he began to sing his cover of "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Blaine didn't even understand how amazing Kurt's voice could be live, under these circumstances.

Kurt ran off stage a few times, returning with a different costume each time for a certain song (like Le Jazz Hot, complete with dancers) and stuff like that. Then suddenly, the time was gone and Kurt was singing his last song.

"Thank you guys! Drive safe and have an amazing night!'

After he had left the stage and the house lights had lifted, the people around Blaine filtering out of the theatre, Blaine sat there for about ten minutes, trying to realize what had just happened. It really was amazing.

After enough people had left, Blaine left the theatre and walked slowly into the parking lot to his car. He still wasn't able to get out of the parking lot and ended up waiting in his car playing Temple Doom until enough people had cleared out. He drove about twenty minutes away from the venue, wanting to avoid all the traffic at the restaurants and coffee shops nearby. It was around 10pm and though he was wired from the concert, Blaine knew he should grab some coffee to appease his mom.

There was a coffee shop that looked promising and Blaine pulled in, switching off his care and stretching his legs, stiff from standing at the concert. Blaine walked into the coffee shop, mostly devoid of patrons save for a college student aged boy in the corner, typing furiously on her laptop and a barista at the register. Blaine smiled over at her, walking up and scanning the menu (to pretend he was actually thinking about his order, and not some boring guy that got the same thing all the time).

"Hmm, I'll have a medium drip please?" he said.

"Room for cream?" Blaine thought for a moment, taking in the sound of the door opening behind him as a costumer entered absently.

"Sure," he said, a smile as he pulled out a five. "Keep the change, ok?"

"Thanks," said the barista brightly. She looked up at him, eyes taking on a different tone for a moment. "What's your name?"

"Blaine," he said slowly. Surely she didn't need a name to keep track of his order; he was the only one here.

"Blaine," she said. "That's such a cute name. It totally fits you," she said. She wrote on the side of the cup. "You know, I get off in twenty minutes, if you want to like, go somewhere…."

Blaine wasn't a stranger to being flirted with - well, by girls, that is. For some reason, he never really fit anyone's stereotype of "gay", just by looking at him. He'd become really good at turning down girls gently.

"That's very sweet of you," said Blaine. "But I don't really play for your team. If I did, I would gladly take you up on that."

The barstia looked surprised, then giggled nervously. "Oh! Oh! Sorry. I'll get that medium drip for you right now, Blaine." She walked over to the machine, looking flustered. Blaine chuckled, walking away from the register and grabbing the sugar as he pulled out his phone, calling his mother.

"Hi Ma," he said when she answered. "Just calling to tell you I'm safe and sound. I should be back in Lima in about…" Blaine looked down at his watch. "Two hours or so, if I make good time, which I should."

"You be careful, are you getting coffee? Do you feel tired?" she asked.

"I feel fine, Ma," said Blaine. "And I'm getting coffee now. I should be fine. I'm gonna go now. Don't stay up and make yourself tired, ok?"

Blaine hung up when she promised to go to sleep, smiling absently. Though his father might be…distant, his mother was always the more caring one of the two anyway.

"Excuse me," said a voice behind Blaine. He turned, wondering who would be talking to him… "I heard you were on your way to Lima? Is that right? I sort of wondered if I could as you a favor…"

Blaine's jaw hit the floor.

_Kurt Hummel _was standing in front of him.

"…what?" he said.

Oh _wow_, that was pretty eloquent of him.

Kurt smiled at him and (wait, could this really be him, or was Blaine just more tired than he thought?) looked embarrassed. "It's just - my car broke down, right? Literally a minute away and I was on the phone and couldn't get a hold of anyone. Then I looked up all the rental car places nearby and of course they are all closed. Same with repair shops, and it's not a break I can fix myself…" Kurt took a deep breath. "And I'm on my way to visit my dad in Lima, but well, it's late and he's already asleep most likely….I was just hoping, well, you're on your way there and maybe you could drive me?"

Blaine stared, wide eyed, at Kurt. Had he just heard that all correctly?

"Oh god, I'm sorry, I must sound insane or something," said Kurt, still nervous. "Look, I hope I don't sound weird or crazy. I just - I heard you…." He sighed. "Let's start over - Hi, I'm Kurt."

"I…know…" said Blaine slowly and Kurt raised an eyebrow. Blaine's face heated up. "Oh god, _that _sounded weird and crazy, didn't it? It's just - I just came from your concert and I - well, this is kind of _weird_."

Kurt's eyes widened, as well. "Oh! Oh! You…really just came from my concert?"

Blaine laughed nervously. "Yeah. God. I love your music _so _much, you have no idea. And your voice in general just - it's _amazing_. And-and-your style and courage for being who you are - and -" Blaine breathed in for the first time since the sentence began, realizing how "fan boy" he sounded. Kurt was looking at him with an amused expression. "I'm sorry I - you're regretting asking me now, aren't you? You probably would rather risk walking to Lima that hitching a ride from a fan."

"That's not it, I mean, you sound normal enough," laughed Kurt, scratching the back of his neck. Blaine noticed for the first time he was a bit dressed down, though still fashionable: fitted jeans, white shirt and a vest. "I mean, you're just a guy that gives good tips to baristas and lets them down gently when they hit on you. And tells his mother not to worry and go to sleep." Kurt winced. "Wow, I sound crazy."

Blaine laughed, the nervous chuckle bubbling up in his chest.

He was talking to Kurt Hummel.

And he was just - _normal_. And…didn't really know what to say.

"Here are your drinks," said the barista suddenly, bringing him back to earth. Blaine grabbed the one with his name, opening the lid and sprinkling in some sugar.

"Why did you come to a coffee shop if your car broke down?" Blaine asked abruptly.

"Oh," said Kurt, sipping his own coffee. "I was going to come here anyway, to get coffee so I wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel, either. When it broke down, I thought waiting here and thinking of a plan was better than waiting out in the cold by my car." He shrugged.

Blaine glanced down at his coffee, then back at Kurt. "If you're…still wanting a ride. I could, I could do that. If you don't mind being trapped in a car with me for two hours."

Kurt's face lit up. "I don't mind at all. I'm pretty certain you're not going to kill me." He paused. "To be safe, I am going to tweet right now…" Kurt pulled out his phone and started typing quickly.

Wait, what?

After a moment, Blaine's phone vibrated. He pulled it out and, of course, it was a tweet. He'd actually missed a previous one from Kurt, thanking Columbus for a good show. The most recent on the other hand.

KurtHummel: I am about to take a risk. If I have not tweeted within the next 12 hours, send help! #sortofserious

"Oh wow," laughed Blaine.

"You get my tweets to your phone then," said Kurt, his eyes crinkling with laugher. "Maybe I should be afraid…"

Blaine colored, pocketing his phone. "You sound like my friend Rachel," he muttered.

"I can't wait to hear all about her - on the way to Lima," said Kurt with a bright tone.

"Oh believe me, you probably don't. Rachel is…a required taste."

"Now I _really _want to know."

Which was now Blaine ended up leading Kurt Hummel to his car, beginning to talk about Rachel Berry and her obsession with gold stars.

0000


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! I'm so glad you all seem to link this fic so far! I hope you like the next installment of Kurt and Blaine: in a car for 2 hours! **

**0000**

First Blaine followed Kurt's direction to his rental car that had broken down to get his suitcases from the trunk, which Blaine helped him with (his mother had raised him to be a gentlemen, after all).

"You're visiting your dad for _two _days, huh?" said Blaine as he lifted the heaviest bag into the trunk.

"Just because the rest of Lima is fashionably challenged, doesn't mean I have to be," challenged Kurt.

"I guess that means I'm fashionably challenged too?" asked Blaine, thinking back to that time he thought about shopping with Kurt…and quickly pretending he hadn't.

Kurt gave him a once over, pressing his lips together. Blaine was dressed in a pair of red high waters, a clean black polo and a blue and red bowtie. He tugged at it self consciously under Kurt's gaze.

"I wouldn't say bad at all," said Kurt finally. "It's like, fashionable nerd. The bowtie is cute."

Blaine blushed, reaching over and starting the car. "Well, thank you," he said finally.

"Oooh, iPod, does this mean I get to be DJ for the ride up?" asked Kurt, pointing to the device on his dash.

"Uh, sure," said Blaine as he turned into the street. "Oh! Please don't - I mean - I was on the way to your concert so please don't -"

"Awww, you have all my songs in a playlist," said Kurt. Too late. He had grabbed the iPod and had turned it on, flipping through the last screen it was on. He laughed, looking over to Blaine. "Don't blush. It's sweet."

"I have _other _music," muttered Blaine.

"Yes yes," said Kurt. "Ah! _Wicked_! I love you!"

Blaine groaned and Kurt shot him a glare, to which Blaine blushed. "No it's just - I like _Wicked _just fine, but my friend Rachel is always wanting to change to that when we're in the car and now she will never let me live this down."

"Hmm," said Kurt, turning down the music slightly. "This Rachel again. You say she's a required taste, but I do like the sound of her. Or at least her musical taste."

"She's nice," said Blaine. "My first friend when I moved to Lima and started going to McKinley at the beginning of the year. She invited me to Glee club when she noticed how much I enjoyed their impromptu performance in the lunch room."

"Oooh, Glee club," said Kurt with a nod. "What did they sing?"

"The Go Gos," said Blaine. "It was so awesome. Of course, it ended in a food fight." He shrugged, and laughed at how quickly Kurt's eyebrows rose (he could see that even out of the corner of his eye). "The Glee club isn't the most appreciated group of people in the school."

"McKinley, huh?" Blaine nodded. "How's it like…being gay in a place like that?" asked Kurt with a timid tone.

Blaine blinked, looking over at Kurt for a moment before looking back to merge into the left lane. "How do you -"

"Barista, remember?" laughed Kurt.

"Oh, right."

Blaine was quiet for a long moment. "Well, you know Lima. Ohio in general." Blaine sighed. "So far, it's better than the last public school I went to, when I was a freshman."

"How many schools have you been in?" asked Kurt, raising an eyebrow once more.

The song playing from the speakers began to fade, silence settling over them for a moment, before it transitioned into the next. "Three," Blaine finally said. "I went to public school in Westerville first. But a few months into my freshman year…" Blaine hesitated. He didn't exactly share this information with everyone. He had mentioned some of it to Rachel, but then, she didn't know it all.

Though Rachel meant well, and had a lot of empathy for him with her fathers, she would never…completely understand.

"I had just come out," he continued, voice soft. "And there was a Sadie Hawkins dance. I wanted to go, so badly. There was one other out guy in the school, a sophomore, and we weren't the best of friends, but we were the only two gay kids in the school - so we decided to go together."

Blaine paused long enough to focus on the street signs and gage Kurt's reaction in the seat beside him. He was looking at him, a thoughtful expression on his face as he listened.

"After the dance, we were waiting for his dad to pick us up and these three guys…beat the living crap out of us," Blaine let out in a low whoosh of air.

"Oh," said Kurt. Blaine looked over. He looked sad.

"After that, I transferred to Dalton Academy," said Blaine quickly. "It has a zero bullying policy. Enforced. I went there the rest of freshman and sophomore year. It was…like a safe haven. Like a breath of fresh air. I could…be _myself _there. Sing, be out, be anything I wanted. Then this summer, we moved closer to Lima. Instead of commuting to Dalton, my dad…decided that it would be better for me to try out public school again."

"Why on earth would he allow that, after what happened?" asked Kurt, voice almost angry. Blaine looked over at him, for a moment struck by how _real _he was. He wasn't just this person on a movie screen or CD.

"My father…he tries, I think," said Blaine, searching for the right words. "To explain…the summer before freshman year, we rebuilt this vintage Chevy in our garage. I had come out about two weeks before. I think…he probably thought doing something like that would get my hands dirty. Make me…"

"Straight."

Blaine looked at Kurt, happy that someone was in front of him that understood for once.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, Blaine," said Kurt. "I haven't had to deal with the public school thing since middle school." He shrugged.

"Why?"

"I begged my dad to let me do online high school after 8th grade," said Kurt. "The hate I had been getting since about 6th grade was just…so tiring. People were calling me gay and slurs before I had even come to terms without myself. Around the same time, I started going on auditions, so online school was the best thing in the end."

"Your dad was ok with all that?" asked Blaine.

"He knew I was gay before I had accepted it," said Kurt. "And he knew I loved performing, so he supported me, yes," said Kurt, face lighting up at the mention of his father.

"And…he's still in Lima?" Blaine asked. They had gotten on the freeway by now, mostly empty besides his own car and a few headlights lighting up the night between long stretches.

"Yes," said Kurt, nodding. "I was sending in videos for auditions when I was around 14, and when I got some interest we did start going to L.A. But he mostly likes staying in Lima. His Tire place is everything to him. It's over on 6th?"

"I don't really know Lima well," confessed Blaine. "I didn't even know he had a Tire place, honestly. I mean. I'm not that obsessed, you know," he teased. Kurt laughed.

"Well, a year ago now he had a heart attack," said Kurt. "Went into a coma."

"I remember that," Blaine said softly. "Well, I mean, you weren't exactly public with it obviously. Just that you did break in filming for a while to take care of him." Blaine paused. "I had always admired that about you. Caring about your family, over the job."

"Thanks," said Kurt. "I mean…it was no question, really." He shrugged. "Basically, I made him stay in Lima all the time. Traveling wasn't good for him. That way he could take over his shop all the time, and not leave a partner he hired to do the work. I know he liked that better."

They stayed silent for a good few minutes. Blaine registered the soundtrack playing for the first time since they had started talking. Blaine started to hum along to "Defying Gravity".

"So, you're a singer then?" asked Kurt. "I realize that the tone of our conversation hasn't been very light, so I'm trying to change that."

"Very nice of out," laughed Blaine. "Yes, I'm a singer. I love it."

"You should sing something for me," said Kurt brightly.

Blaine stared at Kurt, eyes wide, before once again turning back to the road, face hot. "No - I couldn't."

"Oh, you could," said Kurt, picking up his ipod again. "I think I saw a playlist here…ah! 'Glee Practice'. Am I to guess that is karaoke tracks so you can practice your songs?" he asked, smile deviant.

"Well…yes," said Blaine. "But I couldn't -"

"I insist. You paid money to watch me sing and dance like a fool for over an hour tonight." Kurt pulled out his wallet then slapped a twenty down on the dashboard. "I want to see the same thing. One song."

Blaine groaned. "Okay - okay, fine." He looked at his hands on the steering wheel, not daring to believe that he was about to sing for Kurt Hummel. "Just - switch it to 'Teenage Dream', ok?"

"Oh god, Katy Perry -"

" - is a fantastic artist with undeniably catchy songs," finished Blaine pointedly.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "She's a little weird, personally. I don't know. She's good enough for the first five minutes of conversation, I guess."

"You've _met _her, oh god." Kurt laughed at Blaine's envious tone.

"Sing!" Kurt said. "You're not getting out of this." He pushed play on the karaoke track and the melody filled the car.

Blaine took a few breaths, finally jumping in at the right beat.

"_You think I'm pretty, without any make up on…" _

Blaine was sure he sounded bad. He was driving, for one, and so nervous. His voice shook, he could hear that clearly. Somehow, he got through the song, even trying to sing to Kurt at a few points (thinking back to how fun it had been to perform this with the Warblers). Kurt laughed when Blaine did turn to him, nodding to the beat.

"That was great!" laughed Kurt. "Really." He was clapping enthusiastically. "Your voice has a really nice tone to it."

"Really?" asked Blaine, breathless. "I mean. Coming from you - god, I don't want to embarrass myself, but you're my favorite singer, Kurt. I just - can't really believe it," he said sheepishly. "I sound so creepy, don't I?"

"You're really adorable when you get all flustered," said Kurt. "Really, it's flattering. The having fans thing will never get old. And believe me when I say that you are not creepy by some of the fans I have met before."

"Well that's comforting, I guess," said Blaine.

"How is Glee club? I mean, besides not being well liked by the school, I guess?" asked Kurt. "I always wanted to join, if I had gone to high school. I mean…singing. I'll always want to do it."

"It's amazing. I mean, I was part of an acapella choir at Dalton," said Blaine, wide smile spreading onto his face. "And my sophomore year I was their lead singer, so transitioning to the New Directions was different. It's also so interesting. They're a little crazy, too, but they're like a…family. A really dysfunctional one."

Kurt was laughing. "How so?"

"For one, Rachel had to draw a diagram just to explain all the dating combinations that have happened," said Blaine, which made Kurt laugh again (god, he loved that laugh). "And fill me in on all the drama that had happened before I came. There has been pregnancy, cheating, love triangles - everything you find in a soap, basically. I could barely believe that this was all true."

"Wow."

"Very crazy, I now," said Blaine. "As for the singing bit, that's just as tumultuous. Lots of drama revolves around who gets solos. Rachel, well, she's a diva. That's very true. So is Santana, but she's just sort of scary. We're going to our Sectionals performance in two weeks, so we've been planning that a lot."

"Sectionals?"

"Oh, well, the goal is Nationals. If you win Sectionals, you go to Regionals, then to Nationals," explained Blaine shortly. "Just a competition."

"Ah."

"We also have been putting on West Side Story," said Blaine. "Which is next weekend. I'm pretty nervous for it, but I think it's going to be amazing."

"I love West Side Story!" said Kurt. He had put the _Wicked _soundtrack back on. "Are you in it? Who are you?"

"I am," said Blaine. "And I'm Tony, actually."

"Oooh, so modest," said Kurt teasingly, making Blaine flush. "But really, that's great. Tony is so iconic and just knowing you for the last hour, I think you'd be the perfect Tony. And who is your Maria?"

"Rachel, actually," laughed Blaine.

"Wow, good thing you're such good friends," said Kurt. "And I'm sure she's happy to have a Tony that doesn't even want to kiss her - showmances can be so messy. Or…does she care?" Kurt added as an afterthought, laughing.

"Oh, she's fine with that," said Blaine. "Her boyfriend is also happy that the guy she's kissing has absolutely no feelings for her like that. He's tall and a football player, so I'm glad I'm gay so I don't piss him off in that respect." Blaine laughed, suddenly remembering the first time he'd gone over to Rachel's house to rehearse. "Her dads - oh god - they were about to intimidate me into not thinking that our on stage relationship meant anything more than that. She hadn't told them I was gay, so that was fun."

"Dads? In Ohio?" asked Kurt, after laughing for a moment. "Wow."

"I know. God, I admire them. They're so in love, too. It's sweet." Blaine smiled over at Kurt, then cleared his throat. "Rachel's surrogate actually works at McKinley right now. They had an…interesting meeting two years ago, I guess. They're ok, now, I suppose. She's a lot like Rachel."

"You weren't kidding about the soap opera stuff."

"That's not the half of it," said Blaine, thinking about Quinn and Beth.

"It sounds like fun, though. Doing productions with your choir," said Kurt wistfully. "Being in a Glee club."

"But you're in movies," said Blaine. "You sing for sold out crowds, like tonight. That's the dream."

"It is," said Kurt. "I love every moment of it…"

"Do you wish you had taken the normal route?" asked Blaine after a moment, as Kurt let his sentence hang in the air. "High school. Glee club?"

"I think about it sometimes," admitted Kurt. "But then I remember all the people I went to middle school with…" he sighed. "Well, they're all the people at McKinley now, so you know. They could be ruthless. And me - I wasn't in the closet, even when I was in the closet. I was so obvious. I wouldn't have wanted to go through that."

"The bullying?"

"Yes," said Kurt. "I mean, it sounds stupid. I get a lot of hate, being in the public eye. Church groups protest what I do. Hypocritical politicians ask me for my autograph for their kids when they're voting against my rights. And yet, I'm scared to go to public school." He laughed. "It's stupid."

"It's not stupid," said Blaine, voice earnest. "No one wants to be pushed around. It's natural to be…scared of that. I wouldn't want to be there, either. I love Rachel, and the Glee club I'm with now, but Dalton…was safer. There is not denying that. It also wasn't the real world, sadly."

"I guess that's a good point," said Kurt.

Blaine laughed. "Oh wow, we don't know how to keep conversation light, do we?" Kurt smiled at him with a shrug.

"I have a serious question for you," said Kurt, turning to Blaine in his seat, seatbelt stretching against his chest. "The Bachelorette - please tell me you are a fan?"

"Oh you can't even believe how obsessed I am," Blaine gushed.

Talk about the relationship drama on that show lasted for a while, then suddenly the were talking about Vogue and Patti Lapone's most recent book. "It was genius," said Blaine.

"It changed my life, no joke," said Kurt.

They were so deep in conversation about these things that Blaine almost missed the turn off for Lima. "Oh wow, we're only ten minutes away," said Blaine, surprised. "That did not feel like a two hour drive at all."

"You're right," said Kurt. "Here I thought we would sit in awkward silence for the whole drive."

"Where does your dad live so I can start over there?"

Kurt explained the directions and Blaine followed them as best he could (Lima still wasn't that familiar to him). "It's ok," assured Kurt after he took another wrong turn. "Almost there."

Blaine pulled up to a sizeable home with a neat lawn. The porch light was on, so the large blue door was able to be seen from the street. "Ah, home sweet home," sighed Kurt. "I do like coming back here, just because it reminds me so much of my mom." Kurt looked far away for a moment, a small smile on his face. "I can't thank you enough for taking me home," he said after a beat. He looked at Blaine.

"It's not problem," said Blaine.

"And…you're really nice," said Kurt. "I was surprised how nice -" He stopped.

"I just…can I say something?" asked Blaine. Kurt nodded. "I…always told myself that if I ever met you, I'd want to tell you…thank you."

"Thank you?" asked Kurt, confused.

"Yeah. Thank you for…getting me through a lot of rough days. Especially recently, with all the bullying. You…you're really inspiring, for gay youth. It might be stupid, but whenever I'm feel bad, or have a bad day, I can turn to your music and just…be better."

"It's not stupid," said Kurt, reminiscent of earlier. "I do that, too, you know, with people I look up to. It's nice - more than nice, there aren't really words for it - to think that I can touch people like you." Kurt smiled, eyes a little watery. "So thank _you_."

Blaine looked down at the steering wheel, feeling like his face was on fire. He coughed. "We should get your bags. I'm sure you're exhausted."

They got out of Blaine's car and Blaine helped him with his bags. They stood in front of the door, Kurt sorting through his keys before finding the right one. He turned to Blaine, a strange expression on his face.

"Can I have your phone?" he said.

"Um, sure?" Blaine pulled out his phone, handing it to Kurt. After a few moments, Kurt handed it back. He looked down, finding a new contact.

"Why don't you call me tomorrow, or even Sunday? I would love to hang out with you. Maybe even this Rachel," he said with a slight laugh. "I don't really hang out with many people my age…tonight has been refreshing."

"I - I - ok," said Blaine. "That sounds great. You rest up, ok?"

Kurt smiled at him, opening his front door and pushing his bags in. "I will. You too, Tony boy." Blaine laughed, singing out a few lines to "Tonight" with an exaggerated air.

"Bye, Kurt," he said, serious.

"Bye, Blaine."

Kurt smiled before shutting the front door. Blaine stared at the blue paint for a moment before turning and walking back to his car slowly.

As he was driving up his own driveway about ten minutes later, his phone rang out.

KurtHummel: Well that risk was a great decision. Had a lot of fun tonight, even if my car did break down! Time for some rest. xo

0000


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, everyone's reactions to this fic blow me away! I'm so glad you like it! Once again, I hope you enjoy this chapter. ;) **

**00000**

When Blaine woke up the next morning, he lay in bed for a few long moments, stretching with a smile on his face as he remembered the amazing concert the night before. It had been everything Blaine had imagined and -

Then suddenly, everything from the night before came rushing back and Blaine froze, mid stretch. He sat up in bed with an absent "Oh my god!" on his lips.

He had met Kurt Hummel last night.

Hell, he had not only met Kurt Hummel, but held an over 2 hour conversation with him as he drove him home.

Blaine dove for his cell phone, sitting on the other side of his bed, where he had dropped it last night after throwing off his clothes and falling into bed. He had a text from Rachel already, asking how the concert had gone, so he called her from there.

"Hello, Rachel Berry speaking," she said, as usual.

"You will never believe what happened to me last night," said Blaine in a rush.

"Did you have fun, then?"

"More than fun," said Blaine. "Oh god. I mean, the concert was amazing but - Rachel, I met Kurt Hummel last night."

"What!" Rachel squeaked, sending Blaine into a round of giggles, unable to believe it himself. "Tell me everything!" she gushed.

Blaine explained how he met him in a coffee shop, how his car had broken down, and finally, how he had driven him back to Lima.

"Oh sweetie," said Rachel, and if Blaine didn't know better, she sounded disappointed.

"What?"

"I remember when you told me to tell you when you'd reached a low point? You've hit it. That can't have happened, Blaine," said Rachel. "Did you have too much coffee? Are you pulling my leg?"

"No - Rachel - it happened!" insisted Blaine. Rachel made a noise of disapproval. "Look - I can prove it. I'll call you back soon, ok? Just be ready and dressed in about an hour."

Rachel sighed heavily, but agreed.

Of course, after he had hung up with Rachel and pulled up Kurt in his contacts, Blaine froze for a moment. Could he really just…call him? Kurt Hummel. Shouldn't he wait a few days? Wasn't that protocol?

But Kurt was only here until Monday, Blaine reminded himself. He had a performance that night he needed to get to. And he did say call last night. That he wanted to hang out with people his own age…

Blaine pressed 'call' before he could wimp out.

With every ring, Blaine's heart jumped. When Kurt finally answered, Blaine wasn't even sure what to say.

"Hi," he said stupidly.

"Who is this?" Kurt said, sounding like he was yawning. Oh great, had he woken Kurt up at an ungodly hour? Rachel was always up at 5 am or something, so calling her wouldn't make a difference.

Blaine looked at his alarm clock. No, actually, it was close to noon. "It's Blaine. From, um, last night."

"Oh!" said Kurt. It sounded like he was moving, ruffling something. "Sorry, I just woke up a few minutes ago. I'm a bit out of it."

"Oh, I'm glad I didn't wake you up, then," said Blaine, letting out a breath. "I just - I don't know if you actually wanted me to call you or not -"

"Of course I did," said Kurt. "Why else would I have given you my number?"

"I…don't know," laughed Blaine. "Look, I was just on the phone with Rachel and well, she thinks I'm crazy." Kurt snorted on the other end of the phone and Blaine frowned. Was he making fun of him? "Because she doesn't think I actually met you…she thinks I'm making the whole thing up."

"Well, it is a bit farfetched," laughed Kurt.

"Actually, it is," he admitted. "Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to, well, meet up with Rachel and I for lunch or something? I mean, of course you should hang out with your dad as well, so I understand if you can't."

"No I can do that today," said Kurt, making Blaine's heart soar. "My dad came into my room maybe an hour ago, telling me he had to go into the garage for the afternoon."

"That's great!" Blaine stood, almost falling when his ankle remained tangled in his sheets. "Why don't I come and get you in the next hour? I still need to get dressed."

Kurt sighed. "Same here. I suppose I can get ready in under an hour. But it won't be perfect, so I want no comments from you."

"I doubt that you'll look any less than stunning," said Blaine, before blushing at his words. "I mean - you'll look fantastic."

"Thank you, Blaine," said Kurt with a laugh. "Just text me when you've arrived. I'm looking forward to meeting Rachel."

After Blaine hung up with Kurt he texted Rachel, telling her that he would pick her up in an hour as he walked over to his closet. Once he started looking through his clothes, he didn't know _what _to wear. Despite what Kurt had said, he would be stunning, and Blaine was the guy with bowties and sweater vests.

Blaine was taking too much time with his clothes, and finally decided on some grey pants, a green and white striped shirt, green suspenders and a bowtie. He showered quickly, putting on his clothes and quickly doing his hair. Blaine ran down the stairs quickly, only pausing to tell his mom how amazing the concert had been (deciding that he would leave out the bit about Kurt for now) and that he was going out with Rachel.

Blaine was almost amazed that he remembered the way to Kurt's house, since it had been so late the night before, and was happy when he pulled up in front. Kurt answered the door, of course looking laid back and fashionable at the same time. "Hmm, suspenders," he said, eyeing Blaine as he locked the front door.

"Are they stupid?" asked Blaine, bringing his thumbs up and pulling them for a moment.

"No, I approve."

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how funny is your friend's reaction going to be?" asked Kurt as they walked up to Rachel's door about ten minutes later.

"Probably pretty gold," laughed Blaine. "And just…if she gives you a CD of her singing, urging you to give it to a casting director or something, please feel free to tell her no."

Kurt laughed. "Would she do that?"

Blaine grimaced as he rang the doorbell. "Probably. Rachel wants to be a star one day. I'm afraid of the measures she'll take to get there, honestly."

"Hello, Blaine."

Blaine looked away from Kurt and smiled up at Rachel's dad. He was tall, taller than Blaine had ever imagined Rachel's dad before meeting him. "Hello, Mr. Berry. I'm here to pick up Rachel for lunch."

"Come on in, Leroy and I were just about to leave ourselves. We're going up to this little get away in the woods just north of here," he said, opening the door wider. Blaine ducked in, Kurt following after him.

"To celebrate your anniversary? Rachel was telling me about it. How many years have you been together?" asked Blaine with a smile.

"Twenty-one," answered the other Mr. Berry as he walked into the living room, carrying two suitcases. "Hello again, Blaine. And who is your friend?"

"This is Kurt," said Blaine, a bit awkwardly.

"It's nice to meet you," said Kurt, as charmingly as he always was.

"And you as well. We'd love to stay and chat, but we have to get going. Take care of Rachel for us and make sure that Puckerman boy doesn't convince her to throw a party like last time."

"I'll be sure to, Mr. Berry," said Blaine with a nod.

"They're cute," said Kurt after they had left the house.

"You haven't see them sing a duet together," said Blaine, walking over to the stairs. "Now that's a sight." They stopped at the top of the stairs and in front of Rachel's door (on it a large golden star with her name on it). "Rachel - we're here."

"Blaine it's very cute that you still believe me to think that you met Kurt Hum-" Rachel began as she opened the door to her room, stopping short as she took in both Kurt and Blaine. "Oh," she squeaked.

"Hello there, you must be Rachel. I've heard quite a bit about you," said Kurt, holding out his hand.

"Oh! I need to get my CD - just a moment -" said Rachel suddenly, turning back to her room.

"Oh no you don't," said Blaine, grabbing her arm. "That is tacky and rude, Rachel. He's just a person."

"But he's a person with access to agents that could make me a _star_, Blaine."

"You weren't kidding about that," laughed Kurt. He began to eye Rachel with a dubious eye. "Though, you didn't really mention the state of her dress…"

"What's wrong with my dress?" asked Rachel.

"You look like a little girl," said Kurt with a sigh. "Or an old lady. I can't really decide. The dress itself might not be completely horrible, but paired with those tights and loafers? Really?"

Rachel huffed. "I've changed my mind, Blaine. I want to go back to thinking you've just imagined him."

00000

Blaine was able to convince Rachel to reconsider after telling her that Kurt loved _Wicked_, which sparked a conversation between the two all the way to the car and to Breadstix (which Blaine and Rachel decided would be the best place to eat lunch in Lima). It even flooded into the conversation once they were seated.

" - that's my favorite song," sighed Kurt as Rachel mentioned "For Good". "I wanted to put it on my album, but I mean, I don't have anyone to duet with."

"Same here," sighed Rachel. "I mean, I haven't known anyone good enough to duet with me on that particular song, at least."

"Well I'd be open to do so with you at any time," said Kurt with a grin, looking back down at his menu.

"I might actually take you up on that," said Rachel brightly.

"Looks like I'm out a duet partner," sighed Blaine.

"Oh you know you already shared that duty with Finn," said Rachel.

"Well Blaine is a great singer," said Kurt. "Of course, I haven't heard you, Rachel, but I'm sure you'll be amazing in your production next weekend."

"You know about West Side Story?" asked Rachel, her eyes positively glowing at the praise. "And you've heard Blaine _sing_? _When_? Did you know that I was more or less made to be Maria. I've considering changing my name."

"I made him sing in the car," said Kurt. "And really now? I would have loved to be Tony, honestly."

"You'd be a great Tony," said Blaine.

Kurt looked at Blaine, a look that said "oh you" on his face. "That's very nice of you to say, Blaine, but I think we both know that if I went up against you for Tony, I'd have no chance. Most directors don't cast people that look like me in a role like Tony, sadly."

"What do you mean?" asked Blaine with a frown.

"I'm the gay kid," said Kurt. "The feminine looking one."

"That's not fair. You can do whatever you want - it's called acting for a reason, after all," said Blaine.

"That's what you'd think," said Kurt with a shrug. "But that's the basis of my roles since I've started in Hollywood. Whenever I go up for a different role, I lose out against someone more physically fit for the part. They tell me to stick to what I know. You get type cast easily. That's why I'm starting to lean more toward music. I can have more freedom there. I might even think about Broadway soon."

"Oh _Broadway_," said Rachel, starry eyed. "That's my dream. I want to live in New York and never leave. We went there for Nationals last year. It was where I belonged. I have to tell you about how I broke into the Gershwin theatre and sang 'Defying Gravity' on the _Wicked _stage."

"_Excuse me?"_

Kurt and Rachel only paused in their frantic conversation that followed to order their lunch for a moment, before launching right back in.

The conversation over dinner flowed easily between the three of them (especially because there was never a lull in talking when Rachel was involved). Soon, however, they had all finished their lunches and agreed they should leave.

"I can't believe no one recognized you, though," said Blaine as they walked back to his car. Granted, it had been quiet in Breadstix, being a bit after the lunch rush.

"People don't expect to see someone famous in a place like that," said Kurt. "Or in Lima, Ohio of all places. I've eaten at many a diner in the middle of nowhere and never been spoken to."

"Crazy."

"Why don't we go back to my house and watch a movie," suggested Rachel. "My dads are out of town, and believe me, this will be better than the party I was forced into throwing last time."

"We hear about this story again - do tell me about it. Must have been good," laughed Kurt.

They heard about the Rachel Berry Train Wreck Extravaganza on the way back to her house, then put in West Side Story (on Rachel's insistence) and settled into her bed with a bowl of popcorn. Blaine was pressed against Kurt on his right, who was sitting in the middle of him and Rachel. He tried not to brush his hand against his whenever they reached for the popcorn at the same time (and mostly failed).

After that movie had ended, Kurt insisted that he help Rachel go through her closet and create a more mature look with the clothes she already owned. So for the next hour and a half they listened to _Wicked _and Kurt made Rachel try on everything in her closet. Blaine sat on the bed and dutifully sat there with his opinion for a few pieces, mostly agreeing with Kurt whenever he sent him a look.

"See," Kurt said as Rachel finally sat down on her bed with a loud sigh. "As long as you follow what I told you, you'll look spectacular. And never, ever, wear those animal sweaters again. I expect them in the Goodwill by tomorrow."

"I have to agree with most of your suggestions," Rachel admitted. "Though, I'm keeping my red Kitty sweater. It was a gift from my dads."

Kurt sighed, sitting down next to Blaine on Rachel's bed. "Well, I suppose it is only Ohio, after all. Just don't get caught wearing that in New York. I _will _find you."

00000

"Rachel is nice," said Kurt as Blaine drove him back home after a few more minutes at Rachel's house.

"She really is, once you get to know her," said Blaine. "I mean, she's very high strung, but she's just ambitious."

"Which I greatly admire, so I relate," said Kurt with a nod. "And…thanks."

"For what?" asked Blaine.

"Letting me hang out with you and her. I mean - I didn't realize I would miss being with people like me. My own age. Most people I interact with are at least ten years older than me, or younger and act like out of control adults, trying to make it in their world."

"It was no problem," said Blaine. He pulled up his car behind a pick up truck, which must be Kurt's dad's.

"My dad is home," said Kurt brightly. "You should come in. I can't wait to tell him about how you rescued me down in Columbus."

"Oh, I couldn't -"

"I insist."

Which is how Blaine found himself being introduced to a man that he would have never pictured as Kurt's father. He was tall and more round than Blaine's own dad. He wore navy coveralls with his name embroidered on the top and a worn baseball cap.

"Thanks for getting my kid back safe, then," he said, patting Blaine on the back after Kurt had told him about his car breaking down. ("I called for them to tow it back to the rental place," he had told him. "So don't worry about that.")

"It was no problem, sir," Blaine said.

"It's Burt. None of that sir stuff."

"It was just lucky that Blaine was there for my concert, I guess," laughed Kurt. "Only kid probably there from Lima, or anywhere close to it."

"You were there for his concert?" Burt asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, s - _Burt_. I know that sounds weird -"

"Naw. My kid's talented." Burt reached out and squeezed Kurt's shoulder, smiling over at him. "Just happy that someone in this town is genuinely supportive of him. I couldn't get anyone to give a damn when he was getting harassed everyday in school, and now they want him to what, sing their praises when asked?"

Blaine liked Burt and his no-crap-taken attitude.

Soon, the subject of dinner came up and Burt looked a little worried. "Actually, kid I got a friend coming over. Well, her and her son."

"You got a lady friend, Burt?" asked Blaine, smiling widely at Burt. He glanced over to Kurt, who had a small frown on his face.

"Well, I do, actually," said Burt, tone slightly gruff, but Blaine could hear that he was mostly covering up some obvious affection. He looked over to Kurt, a weak smile on his face. "I hope you don't mind me wanting to wait till you were home to tell you, kid. I wasn't sure how you'd react…after your mom."

"No, I think it's fantastic," said Kurt, tone bright. "It's a bit of a shock, but then, I guess I just didn't expect that you could find a woman for yourself without my help or something," he teased.

"Your old man still has his old charm," countered Burt. "Anyway, we've been seeing each other for a few months now. She's been wanting to meet you. And well, I haven't actually met her son either. We thought it would be a good time."

"I'm happy for you, dad," said Kurt, looking genuinely happy for his dad. Blaine knew, of course, that his mother had died when he was young. When he talked about her in the interviews he'd seen, you could tell how much he missed her.

"Well, I better be going, then," said Blaine, standing up from his place on the couch. "Get out of the way of all this family stuff."

"Oh no, kid, you should stay," said Burt and Blaine stuttered as he tried to pick up his jacket from the back of the couch. "I wanna repay you for helping Kurt out, so the least we could do was dinner. Besides, having an outside source at the table could help for any awkward silences, huh?" Burt winked at him.

Blaine insisted that he couldn't, to which Burt insisted that he had to. And well, Burt Hummel was pretty intimidating, so Blaine agreed.

"Thanks for staying," said Kurt as he dragged Blaine into the kitchen to put together a salad as Burt went out to grill some chicken and steaks. "I mean - I'm happy for my dad, of course," said Kurt with a certain amount of diplomacy. "But well, I can't see this dinner being anything other than awkward." He laughed.

"I'm here to help."

Kurt looked up at him, from where he was cutting up vegetables and smiled at him in a way that left Blaine breathless. "You do seem to help me a lot," Kurt said softly.

Later, when Burt opened the front door and introduced Carole Hudson and her son, Blaine was surprised.

"Finn?" he said, blinking up at the tall football player now in Kurt's living room.

"Oh, hey Blaine," said Finn, perking up at seeing him. "Wait, you're not my mom's boyfriend's son, are you? Cuz man, that's kinda weird…"

"No, no, I'm a friend of Kurt's."

"How do you know each other?" asked Kurt, looking between Finn and Blaine.

"We're in Glee club," said Blaine. "And this is Finn - you know, Rachel's boyfriend."

"Oh," said Kurt, taking another look at Finn. Kurt introduced himself to Finn and Carole, who seemed like a very lovely woman, if not a bit nervous at the meeting.

"Oh man, wait a second," said Finn. "Kurt Hummel? Blaine, isn't that the guy that you're like, always talking about -"

"_Finn_," whispered Blaine, his face growing hot.

"- and don't you have like, that photo of him in your locker? I mean, he's that singer, right? You totally have a crush on him and -"

"Finn!" said Blaine, louder this time. Kurt was actually giggling at him and, for what it's worth, Finn looked ashamed with himself when he realized what he had just said.

"Oh, sorry, dude," he said, hitting him on the shoulder in what was a friendly pat, but made Blaine stumble forward. "I didn't know it was the actual guy. He's like, famous. What would he be doing here?"

"Well, he's come back to visit his old man," said Burt, putting an arm around Kurt. "Before going off and doing his tour."

"Your father always talks about how proud he is of you, sweetie," said Carole.

Kurt smiled at her. "Yes, well, I guess that's what all parents do for their kids, isn't it."

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"Well, that wasn't so horrible," said Blaine as Kurt walked him out to his car to drive home.

"Except the part where apparently Finn Hudson is a human garbage disposal," said Kurt dryly. "I can't even believe he ate two steaks and a piece of chicken. Where does he put it all?"

Blaine laughed and nodded. "It's kind of terrifying, but you get used to it. Rachel always buys a school lunch, even though she brings her own Vegan approved stuff, and gives it to Finn so he can have two servings." Kurt shook his head, clearly horrified.

"And Finn has a pretty big mouth," said Kurt, with a tone that Blaine couldn't identify. He looked up from his keys and was startled and the teasing grin on Kurt's face.

"Uh…."

"So, a picture in your locker, huh?"

Blaine wanted to disappear into a dark corner somewhere _forever_.

"Oh god, I can't believe he said that," said Blaine, leaning up against his car. Kurt stood right next to him, bumping against his shoulder with his own.

"It's cute."

"It's not what you think, though," said Blaine in a rush. "I mean, yeah, ok, he's right and I totally have had the biggest crush on you for years," said Blaine, looking down at his shoes and avoiding Kurt's eyes. "But it's like - I have that photo up that's from your 'Out' photoshoot. And under it I have the word 'courage', because that's something you said in the interview and it - it moved me, Kurt." Blaine chanced a look at Kurt, whose joking smile was gone. "It's my inspiration. Like we were talking about last night? Sometimes, it's the stuff that gets me through the day. When I get shoved into a locker or get slushied or called a name - I tell myself that it's going to get better, because it got better for you. It got better for you, because you made it that way. You didn't stop when people told you not to do something, or that maybe you didn't belong. And I know you could get the roles that people don't give you, and do them real justice, Kurt, because you're that good."

"I - I don't know what to say," said Kurt.

"I just - I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable," said Blaine quietly. "It's out on the table that maybe I have a bit of an infatuation with you, but that's all, ok? I like what we've been doing, lately. The talking thing…being friends?" said Blaine as more of a question than a statement, only continuing when Kurt nodded, a smile forming. "And you don't have to be worried about me thinking it could ever be anything more. And I promise to tone down all that stuff Finn was talking about, if it's creepy."

"Once again," said Kurt. "It's not creepy. I do the same thing with the people I admire, Blaine. I have a borderline _shrine _for Patti Lupone and stuff like _Wicked _in my apartment. I completely get that, Blaine. And you make me feel comfortable, Blaine." Kurt looked hesitant. "And…I don't know _why_, really. I would have never gotten into a car with just anyone, Blaine, and yet, I got in the car with you. I don't know why," he repeated.

"I have one of those faces," Blaine said, his voice even. "I guess people can trust me."

"It's not that," said Kurt. "Well, that might be part of it."

They stood like that for a long moment, their breath visible in the cold air.

"And about what we've been doing," said Kurt. "Being friends. I really, really want that to continue, if you do."

"I do," said Blaine with a nod.

"But that stuff about me being comfortable?" asked Kurt, hesitant tone returning to his voice. "What if I was comfortable with…there being more?" Blaine's breath caught.

"What…do you mean?"

Kurt laughed without humor. "That's the thing - I don't know. I don't understand it, but I feel comfortable with you, Blaine. I feel…different. I don't know."

"Comfortable enough for…" Blaine let his sentence trail off. He looked over to Kurt, who was staring at him intently. Blaine's heart stuttered and he thought, well, this was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Blaine turned slightly, so he was able to look at Kurt fully. He reached forward, his hand shaking, but not from the cold. He put his hand low on Kurt's cheek, then leaned in and pressed his lips to Kurt's. For a few moments, everything stopped. Everything, in those moments, was _perfect_.

Blaine pulled away, though he didn't want to, breathing heavy.

Kurt's eyes opened and a small smile was on his lips. The lips that were just on _his_.

"Still comfortable?" asked Blaine.

"Very," breathed Kurt.

They both leaned back in.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Well, all your reactions to the end of the last chapter were frankly **_**delicious**_**. I sure hope you enjoy this chapter as well! **

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The following week was long. West Side Story was opening on Friday night, so everyone involved in the production was walking around like the equivalent of a chicken with its head cut off. Artie was a great director, but also a little inexperienced when it came to the stage. Blaine loved his drive for the best, though, and admired his bold choices in costume and set.

Since the show was opening, they rehearsed every night, including dress rehearsals. Rachel had invited Blaine over for dinner every night that week, because they _needed _to work to get Tony and Maria's chemistry down (after a particularly embarrassing comment from Artie that they lacked passion).

The week also dragged because, well, Blaine had kissed Kurt Hummel on Saturday, and since Kurt had left the following day, everything seemed to stand still.

Mostly from confusion. Because of both of their schedules, Kurt being on tour and Blaine getting ready for opening night, they weren't able to talk about the kiss (and what it meant) like they wanted. Blaine was pretty sure that the kiss was fine; Kurt didn't seem upset by it by any means, but what did that _mean_?

Did it mean: hey, we kissed, see you never? I'll keep in touch.

Or did it mean there would be more than just that kiss?

"You've been quiet lately."

Blaine looked up from his book for English. Rachel was sitting against her headboard, staring at him with a perplexed expression. Blaine shrugged. "I guess I'm just…nervous."

"Oh nerves," said Rachel, rolling her eyes, as if the very thought was preposterous. "Then again…" she amended. "Blaine, we're best friends, right?"

The words made Blaine's heart speed up.

Blaine had been people's friend before. He was very charismatic, he'd been told. He got along with most everyone. He was popular at Dalton, in particular.

Despite all this, he'd never had what one could call a "best" friend. While never lacking in friends, he'd never had that unbreakable connection with one other person, that elevated their status in his life.

"Of course, Rachel," said Blaine softly.

"I need to ask your opinion on something," said Rachel, as if she was trying to sound objective. "And I can understand if it would make you feel uncomfortable, but well, I just don't know what to really _do_."

Blaine closed his book, stood and crossed the room to sit next to Rachel on her bed. Rachel had grabbed one of her stuffed monkeys and was clutching it to her chest. "You can tell me anything. I'll tell you if it makes me uncomfortable."

Rachel took a deep breath. "You know how Artie said that we lack passion as Tony and Maria?" she said with a soft tone. "And then asked if we'd ever…you know."

Blaine felt his face heat up at her words. Of course he remembered. That had been on Monday, and Blaine's thoughts were still occupied with Kurt's lips. At Artie's words, that's who he had thought of. Which was crazy. They'd barely even known each other.

Of course, Blaine had told Artie that he was waiting for the right person; the right time, to which Rachel echoed his sentiments.

"It's just…I've been thinking, maybe I should have sex with Finn."

Rachel said it so plainly, looking down at her hands. Blaine sputtered. "Rachel - you can't just - is this because of the play or -"

"No!" she said immediately. "Well, maybe. It just got me thinking about it really. How am I suppose to emulate the fiery passion of Maria if I've never even experienced that? I'll go on stage and - and - people will know I'm a _virgin _trying to play this role."

"Rachel," said Blaine, reaching over to take her hand. "It shouldn't matter. Maria and Tony, they were in love. They were soul mates. Yes, part of their relationship had a lot of passion and was sexual charged, but that's not all of it. They had those feelings because they were in love, first." Blaine reached over and propped Rachel's chin up. "Maybe our Tony and Maria won't be so blatant in their physical relationship. That's perfectly ok. And we're actors. We're suppose to convince the audience that we are something we are not."

"I suppose," said Rachel.

"But," said Blaine slowly. "If you truly think you love Finn, and are ready to take that step with him, no one should stop you. But please, please, don't just jump into this. Giving away something like that…it shouldn't just happen. And please, please be safe? I don't want to see first hand baby-gate 2.0 in Glee."

Rachel laughed, which made Blaine feel better.

"I guess you're right," admitted Rachel. "But…I think I do love Finn enough, for the record. I just - I don't know if I'm saying that because of what Artie said or…"

"Take some time," said Blaine. "Wait until after the musical, maybe?"

"Okay," she said quietly. Rachel sniffled then cleared her throat. "You've very wise on this subject. Have you…I mean, you said you were waiting for the right person and time, but have you -"

"No," said Blaine. "I've never…I've never been anyone's boyfriend." As he said this, he thought of Kurt.

Would he ever be someone's boyfriend?

"You're going to make a guy really happy one day, Blaine," said Rachel with a watery smile.

"Thanks, Rachel."

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Blaine sat next to Rachel, absently putting more blush on his cheeks, he was so nervous. Artie rolled by, telling him to tone it down. He sighed, bringing the brush back up to his face.

"I can't believe this," said Rachel, muttering to herself. She was fidgeting as she put her make up on nothing could convince Blaine that she wasn't nervous.

Hell, he was nervous.

On the make up table, his phone lit up. Blaine dropped the brush and reached out to read it.

Kurt: Break a leg tonight, Tony Boy.

Blaine's heart skipped. This was the first text message from Kurt in the last two days. He couldn't believe that Kurt remembered that his opening night was tonight. Blaine was trying to figure out what to text back when Rachel grabbed his wrist.

"It's time to give Artie the flowers," she said. "Put your phone away!" she hissed after a pause.

Which meant he would have to save a text for after his opening night.

After giving Artie his flowers, the play began. As Blaine stood back stage, waiting for his cue, he paced. What if he couldn't portray Tony correctly? What if it just fell flat?

I just have to get out there, thought Blaine. I can do this.

_Courage_, he thought, as he heard his cue and walked out onstage.

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After Blaine had showered and changed, he found himself back on the stage, now empty, with only the ghost light in the center. Blaine had shrugged off comments about Artie's after party, saying he would get there later. He knew he would have to make an appearance at some point, being Tony, but part of Blaine was disappointed with himself. He'd completely messed up a dance move near the middle, and he needed to get that right before tomorrow.

Blaine stood near the front of the stage, shaking his limbs before jumping into the turn. He practiced it three times through before he heard footsteps from back stage. He sighed. It was probably Rachel, or maybe Tina, coming to drag him to Breadstix.

"You were amazing tonight," said the voice as he grew closer.

Blaine stumbled mid turn, catching himself and spinning back to the voice.

"Kurt!" he exclaimed, eyes widened. "Oh god - what - what are you doing here?"

Kurt was dressed impeccably (as always) in a black suit, his jacket unbuttoned with a casual red shirt under it. He has his hands in his pockets, a timid smile on his face, and Blaine just wants to hug him.

Instead, he holds himself back, standing a few feet away from him.

"I couldn't miss your opening night, Tony boy," teased Kurt, stepping closer. "And really, it was amazing. You were the perfect Tony."

Blaine shrugged, looking away from Kurt with embarrassment. "I messed up a lot. And this dance move - it's simple but I never get it right."

"Who cares about all that? I couldn't notice anything went wrong," said Kurt.

"How - how are you here?"

"Well, I finished the east coast part of my tour this afternoon," said Kurt. "And I go to Texas for a show tomorrow. I thought, well, Ohio is sort of in-between. So I got, let's say, a lay over in Ohio." Kurt smiled at him, and looked at him as he was asking: is this ok?

"I can't believe -" Blaine stuttered. He paused and breathed out. "Just…thank you."

"And, well, your opening night wasn't the only reason I came." Kurt was in front of him now, and if he wanted, Blaine could reach forward and take his hand.

He so wanted to.

"Oh?"

"I wanted to talk about the kiss," said Kurt in a low tone. "I know we haven't gotten a chance to, and well, that was mostly because I didn't want it to happen yet. Not over a phone. I wanted it to happen in person."

If he wanted it to happen in person, that couldn't mean he was going to say he never wanted it to happen again, right? Blaine didn't think so. That would just be cruel. A simple phone call would make that easier. But in person - that was good, right?

"Okay," said Blaine, nodding his head. "I really wanted to talk, too."

"Me first?" asked Kurt. Blaine nodded and Kurt let out his own long breath. "I don't regret the kiss at all, for starters." This did wonders for Blaine's heart. This had to be good. "I really, really like you, Blaine. I don't understand - I've never felt this way for someone so quickly." Kurt laughed, reaching up to scratch his forehead with a sigh. "I've never felt this way for anyone, really. It almost scares me, how fast I developed these feelings for you. But you're just so - you're honest, Blaine." Kurt looked Blaine in the eye, his expression so earnest Blaine wanted to hug him and never let go. "That sort of honesty isn't something you see anymore. Especially not in the world I live in on a daily basis."

"I feel the same way," said Blaine in a rush. "You're just so unique and _real_, Kurt." This time, Blaine did step forward, reaching down to take Kurt's hand. It was warm, constant, in his own.

Kurt's smile broke for a moment and Blaine knew that he wasn't done.

"I like you, Blaine," he repeated. "But you don't - this isn't going to be easy. I don't live here. I don't go to school with you everyday. I live in California. Do you really want to be with someone who…won't be there all the time? To come to your performances, to just _hold _you?" Kurt grimaced and looked down at their hands, still intertwined. "I can't promise you that all the time," he added in a whisper.

"Hey," said Blaine in a soft voice, reaching out, as he had yesterday with Rachel, and pushing up Kurt's chin gently so they had eye contact. "You're here now, aren't you? At an important performance and - woah, look - touching. Holding." He moved their hands up, stepping in closer to Kurt, so that their hands were up against their chests. Kurt laughed, which he felt was a good sign. "So you couldn't be at everything I ever do. I can't do the same for you, either. That stuff happens when a couple lives in the same town, you know. Real life takes over. If that's meant to scare me off…you're worth that, Kurt."

Blaine heard Kurt's breath catch and he can see tears welling up in his eyes.

"You're sure?" whispered Kurt. "You're sure? Because what if we get mad at each other? What if distance is too much? I like you, Blaine. I like you as the person you are, and I would be just fine being your friend. Simple."

"Nothing is ever simple about relationships. Friendship or otherwise, Kurt," said Blaine. "That's what makes them worth it. You have to work for them." Blaine leaned down, pressing a kiss to their hands. "And yes, I'm sure if you are."

"I'm so sure," breathed Kurt, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Blaine's. Blaine felt his pulse quicken, his hand slide out of Kurt's and instead putting his hands firmly on Kurt's waist as Kurt draped his own around Blaine's neck, pulling their chests almost flush against each other.

After too short a time, Kurt pulled away for a moment, pressing his forehead to Blaine's. For a second, Blaine was still trying to find Kurt's lips, before he realized he was speaking.

"You take my breath away, you know?" he said. "Ever since I met you, you've been surprising me left and right. And I was so, so proud to see you on that stage tonight. I knew singing a silly Katy Perry song in a car that you were talented, Blaine, but not like this. This was amazing."

"Thank you," said Blaine, his throat closing up. Someone was proud of him; proud of the thing he loved to do. "I…want you to be."

They stood there, still wrapped up in each other, for a few long minutes. Blaine pulled away first, a wide smile on his face. "So, the student director of the show, Artie, is throwing a private cast party at Breadstix. I heard that no one but the people in our usual Glee club are even going to bother coming, since they're only in the musical because they have to be," said Blaine. "Would you like to come?"

"I can meet the rest of your friends?" asked Kurt, almost shyly.

"Of course. I'm sure they'll love you," said Blaine with a wide smile. "I'm sure Santana won't let me live this down, and Rachel will probably kill me for not telling her about you earlier, but hey, you can't win everything right?"

Kurt laughed and took a short step back from Blaine, bringing one of his hands to Blaine's.

"I'd love to go," he said.

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"_Holy shit_."

Blaine and Kurt had just walked into the back room at Breadstix, were private parties like the one Artie had planned were held, arms linked and nervous smiles on their faces.

Santana had been the first to notice them, dropping the breadstick she had in her hand on the table, the curse falling from her lips easily. Her hair was still pinned up like her character, contrasting with her Cheerio issued sweat pants and tight t-shirt.

Everyone looks up after that, all in similar stages of surprise at seeing Kurt. "Woah." Puck is looking at Kurt with wide eyes.

"Is that seriously Kurt Hummel, or am I just having a really good dream right now?" questions Artie, who is positioned at the head of the long table.

Blaine looks over to Kurt, who looks like his cheeks are cherries, and back to the Glee club.

"This is Kurt," Blaine said, as if Artie hadn't said anything. "He's a teenager like all of you, and just as in love with singing as all of us. I met him last weekend, after the concert. He's really amazing, and I thought it would be ok to bring him to the cast party, even though he technically isn't in the cast."

"Oh my _god_," said Santana loudly. "You're banging."

Now both of them color at that, met with snickers.

"You must be Santana," said Kurt with an edge of false brightness. Santana narrows her eyes dangerously. "Blaine mentioned that you'd have the best reaction to us. And you're sort of right. We're dating. But really, 'banging' isn't happening as of yet."

And yeah, it's the 'as of yet' that makes Blaine do a double take for a moment.

When he looks back at Santana, she's smirking. "Oh, I like him, Blainers," she said to him with a smile. "He's as big a ice queen as _me_."

After that, the ice was broken. Blaine was glad that the Glee club let Kurt in, of course asking him what the hell he was doing in Lima in the first place.

"My dad lives here," he said. "And I did, too, up until I was a freshman. I never went to McKinley, though. I did home schooling after middle school."

"Oh man," said Mike, speaking for the first time since Kurt had arrived. "Hummel, as in Hummel's Tire and Lube shop? I think I remember you from middle school. You went to East Lima Middle School, right?" he asked, referring to one of the two middle schools in the area. Kurt nodded. "Man, you must being laughing in the face of all those kids who used to push you around right about now, right?"

A wicked grin worked its way on to Kurt's face. "Well, that would be somewhat mean, wouldn't it? Yes, yes I do." He giggled, breaking his straight face.

"I always hated that stuff," said Mike. "But hey, peer pressure gets do you. I was the too tall, skinny Asian that secretly liked to dance. I knew I was two steps from your shoes. It sucked."

"Self preservation," said Kurt with a shrug. "I did the same thing in choosing to do home schooling."

Besides Mike, only Brittany had gone to East Lima, instead of West like everyone else. She was staring at Kurt, wide eyed, for a long moment before announcing:

"You were the cute chubby boy with that nice pink jacket. I liked that pink jacket a lot. I always said that was cool, and that no one should pick on someone with a jacket like that, but I don't think they listened," she said with a tone of sadness. "But that pink jacket."

Kurt actually smiled at Brittany, saying that he remembered her, too. "You gave me a cookie during snack time in elementary school, I think. Someone had taken mine. That was sweet of you."

"Damn straight," said Santana proudly.

After a few more minutes of conversation, that Blaine noted was going flawlessly, he noticed that Finn and Rachel were no where to be seen. He frowned, asking Artie next to him if he knew where they were. He shook his head. Blaine sighed, turning back to Kurt, who was telling Santana about the New York Fashion show he'd gone to last year, and smiled. He'd just have to tell Rachel about this tomorrow.

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"You were a hit," said Blaine as they walked out to his car. "They loved you."

"Sorry, can't help but pull focus."

Blaine laughed, squeezing Kurt's hand. "Of course."

"They're really nice, your friends," said Kurt. "I'd like to think…maybe they would have been my friends if I had gone to McKinley, you think?"

"I don't doubt it," said Blaine. "You would have been in Glee club in a heart beat with the rest of them. You'd have given Rachel a run for her money on every song. And hey, they can be your friends now, you know?"

Kurt smiled over at Blaine. "You're sweet. But they are your friends first."

"They've only been for a few months, you coming in wouldn't be anything too new," said Blaine. "Really. They suit you."

As they drove home in a comfortable silence, Blaine wondered how his live had changed so drastically in such a short time. This couldn't really be real, right? Yeah, there was the fact that he was now dating _the _Kurt Hummel, but he was dating Kurt. Just Kurt. He was just as normal as Blaine was. That was the point.

"Blaine," said Kurt as he parked in front of Kurt's house.

"Yes?"

"I was thinking…I want to protect you," he said slowly. "From Hollywood. At least for a little while."

"O…k?"

Kurt sighed, looking over to Blaine from his seat. "I think we should keep our relationship under wraps, for just a little while. I don't want people coming to knock on your door, wanting pictures and quotes from 'Kurt Hummel's boyfriend'. My dad still gets the stray reporter here, looking for a scoop. I hope - I don't want you to think I'm ashamed or anything. I'm not."

"I understand, Kurt," he said, reaching over and squeezing his hand. "Really. It makes sense. And it's not like we'll be in the eye of the paparazzi any time soon, right?"

Kurt nodded, then smiled. "I do hope you can come and visit me…in California or something. Or I can just keep coming here, whatever is easiest for you."

"I'd love that, Kurt," said Blaine. "And we can work out all that later. Right now, I'm just glad we're on the same page."

"Me, too."

They kissed, wanting to make it last forever, but Kurt had to be on an early flight tomorrow, so they eventually parted. "I'll call you. And text you."

"Same."

"And tell Rachel that she was the perfect Maria, ok?" said Kurt sternly. "And to give her my number, because I want to make sure she's dressing appropriately. I might even treat her with some designer stuff, if she sticks to my plan."

"I'll be sure to report that to her," said Blaine with a laugh. "You're amazing."

Kurt's eyes softened. "You're amazing."

Blaine watched as Kurt walked up to his door, then turn and wave at Blaine, before shutting the front door, the light flickering off. Just as Blaine was driving down Kurt's street, stopping at a stop sigh, his phone went off. Blaine looked down, a laugh bubbling up his chest.

KurtHummel: Saw the most amazing performance of "West Side Story" tonight. The Tony was perfect. His acting/singing was great, too. ;)

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	5. Chapter 5

**And I say, since **_**everything **_**seems to be updating tonight, I'm going to join the party. Enjoy!**

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" - oh my god, I can't believe, you sang to a guy in the middle of the Gap," said Kurt, wheezing he was laughing so hard. "And got him _fired_."

Blaine's cheeks were burning and for the moment, he was glad that Kurt was in a completely different state and he couldn't see him over the phone. "I thought I was in _love_, Kurt," he pouted. "I couldn't say it, so I thought I could express it in song -"

"But you said you sang 'When I Get You Alone'. That's not about love - it's about sex toys, Tony boy," said Kurt.

"Well, I guess there is a line that talks about sex toys, but I really don't think -"

"Why did no one stop you? Oh god." Kurt let out a long breath, laughing several times as he tried to regain some control. "And your Glee club - they actually went for this?"

"Well, I asked them nicely, and they agreed," said Blaine. "And really, no one could have guessed it would have gone down like that." Blaine sighed, turning over and reaching for his pillow and laying on his stomach. "Well, he was older, so I should have seen it coming, but still. Young and naïve."

"I'm older than you, Blaine," pointed out Kurt. "You like the older boys, don't you?" he asked, tone teasing.

"No, you're not," said Blaine. "Well, not by much."

"But you're a junior. I would be a senior if I was school, and didn't already have my GED."

"But I'm 17," muttered Blaine quietly. "And I'll be 18 at the beginning of the year."

"Why -"

"Sadie Hawkins."

"Oh."

A stiff, weighted silence rang out on the phone between them. Blaine thought absently how it was one of the first they had ever had over the phone, and they had been together for almost three weeks now. In all their calls, texts, and Skype "dates", awkward silences had never really fallen on them. There had been silences, of course, lulls in conversations, but they were natural. This one stuck out, ugly.

"I'm sorry," whispered Blaine.

"It's not your fault."

"I just -"

"You don't have to explain if you don't want to, Blaine," said Kurt with a gentle tone. "You've told me a lot about your past, but that was because we were in a car with each other for two hours and I pushed."

"You didn't _push_."

"Regardless, you can tell me on your own volition," said Kurt. "I can understand when something hurts to talk about, Blaine. It's like opening that wound whenever you say it out loud, or even just think about it. We're new at this. We have time to tell each other everything."

"Thank you for understanding," said Blaine, his voice tight. He didn't want to cry, but Kurt was right, just thinking about everything that had happened that night made his old scars, now almost invisible, ache.

"Of course," said Kurt. "Now, did I ever tell you of the time I met Neil Patrick Harris and completely embarrassed myself in front of him and David?"

Blaine let a laugh, still sounding a little hallow to his own ears. He loved that Kurt knew when he needed to change a subject, or talk about something different. "I _need _to hear this."

00000

"The outfit Kurt picked out for you today is nice," said Blaine as a greeting to Rachel the next morning. Rachel grinned, spinning just in front of her locker. "He sent it to me. It's a _designer_. I'm wearing a designer!" Rachel sighed dreamily, leaning against her locker and absently smoothing out the skirt to her dress. "Have I ever told you how much I love that you're together?"

"Well, I hope it's because he makes me happy and we're good for each other, and not because he sends you nice clothes," said Blaine, tone suspicious.

"Yes, yes, of course," said Rachel, fixing her lip gloss in her locker mirror. "Although, you sir also benefit from this. Is that a new bowtie I see?"

Blaine blushed, reaching up to fix the bowtie that would have probably cost him three months allowance. "I told him not to," said Blaine, embarrassed. "I told him that he could get you a few things if he saw that your wardrobe needed it, but not to spoil me, because that so unfair, you know? But then he sent it to me anyway and well - after that he promised no more until major gift giving holidays."

"You're the only person in the world that would get a famous, rich boyfriend and insist he not buy you thinks."

"Shhh!" said Blaine, looking around the hall, but as usual, most people ignored his and Rachel's existence.

"Oh the secrecy," whispered Rachel. "Sorry."

"It's not even just that we don't want the relationship public," said Blaine softly. "I'm nervous for people to know I have a -" He lowered his voice more. " - boyfriend."

"Blaine," said Rachel, confused. "You're out, why would you be nervous?"

"Because the school knowing I'm gay and disliking me for it is different than them knowing I'm acting on the thing they think is wrong. And because he's not here with me, Rachel. I don't think I could face that alone. It would be different if he were here holding my hand."

"Oh, sweetie…"

Blaine shrugged. Obviously Kurt had warned him about this. They wouldn't be together, besides by phone, for long periods of time. Blaine had been ready for that, but lately he had been missing Kurt more so than usual. He just really wanted to hold hands with him, like Tina and Mike did in Glee club, or god, kiss him again and again.

"I'm just getting used to it," he muttered, clutching his shoulder bag tightly.

"I'm sure he misses you, too," said Rachel. Blaine smiled at her and nodded. The bell rang and she sighed, grabbing one of her books from her locker before shutting it. "I'll see you later in Glee."

Blaine watched as Rachel hurried down the hall, never wanting to be late for anything, including class. He smiled as her tiny form disappeared in the crowd, eyes drifting around as he quickly spotted a handful of couples. Some where holding hands, others kissing at their lockers before class.

And yeah, Blaine couldn't help but wonder: if Kurt were here now, would they be doing that?

0000

The Glee Club was keeping up its deal of not spreading the news that he and Kurt were dating, thankfully. When Blaine had told them all, Santana had looked at him like he was crazy.

"You want to keep it a secret that you're dating a movie star? Really? You aren't doing this right at _all_."

Santana, and everyone else however, kept their word. Blaine hadn't even heard a rumor about him or anything, thankfully. Of course, Santana began to bug Blaine for her own clothing hook-ups after seeing what Rachel was wearing.

"You're ridiculous," said Blaine.

"Soon, Blanderson," she said, making Blaine get a little nervous.

He and Santana, they had a strange relationship. He wasn't even sure he could say "friends" without getting cursed out by her, but maybe they were allies.

Santana had been outed two weeks ago. Coach Sylvester was running for Congress and another candidate had made a smear campaign outing her as a lesbian. Thankfully, neither that candidate nor Sue Sylvester had won. Instead, a relatively normal candidate had won.

When Santana was outed, Blaine offered to help her through whatever she needed.

That offer was promptly thrown in his face, but he tried.

Then he had decided that to get to Santana, he had to go through Brittany first. Which ended up being simple. He went to Brittany's house with Rory (a foreign exchange student who lived with her) one afternoon and knocked on Brittany's bedroom door.

Brittany, as it turned out, had been thinking Blaine was some sort of hobbit since he transferred and was a little afraid to talk to him. After Blaine had assured her that he wasn't a hobbit, she promptly asked to make out with him.

"I want a perfect record," she said.

"I don't think that would be good, Brittany," said Blaine, trying to turn the offer down gently. "I have a boyfriend and you have a girlfriend."

"Oh yeah," said Brittany, eyes lighting up. "You're dating that boy that lives in the movie screen. He's cute."

"I think so too."

From there, Blaine helped Brittany set up a new dollhouse until Santana arrived, looking at his presence suspiciously. "What is he doing here, Brit?"

"Blaine wanted to talk to you about our lady kisses," said Brittany. "He likes his boy kisses, and wanted to tell us that he supports us no matter what. He also put together my new house, which was really hard, so I like him."

Blaine saw something in Santana's eyes soften, for just a moment or two. Then she was looking back at him, another barrier up.

"Look, just because I'm out now doesn't mean I need a whole host of gay friends," she said. "And don't think you understand what I'm going through at all. Just because we're both gay doesn't mean we can suddenly be besties."

"I'm not saying that at all, Santana," said Blaine. "I just want you to know that you can talk to me about anything. I understand you have Brittany for that." Blaine looked over at Brittany, sitting on the ground and dressing up one of her dolls. "But if you ever needed someone…maybe I could understand. Everyone has their own stories."

"Yeah, well, I don't have a problem at all," said Santana viciously. "My parents are fine with it and the only people that have a problem with me are the douches at school and I don't care what they think."

"That's good, Santana," said Blaine. "That your family accepts you. That's the most important thing. It's not…something we all can have. So cherish that."

Blaine's voice wavered. In the moment, he knew that Santana had noticed it. She had a thing for seeing weakness.

"Don't tell me that your parents threw you out or something," said Santana. "Then I'd have to feel sorry for you."

"Nothing so drastic," said Blaine. "Parents can disapprove of your…lifestyle without being so vocal about it. Or physically throwing you out. It still can hurt." Blaine wanted to avoid details. Honestly, Kurt was one of the only people he'd been so forth telling about his parents with.

Blaine, well, he had a thing for seeing when someone had heard what he was saying. He knew that Santana got it.

"Hypothetically," she said slowly. "If someone in your family did…disapprove. Maybe, told you that they didn't want you in their house ever again…what would you do about that?"

Blaine knew that it wasn't her parents. It had to be someone else.

"You can't do anything to change their mind, unfortunately," said Blaine with a sigh. "You can just be yourself. It will always…hurt, that the people you love don't accept you as you are. You can only hope that one day, maybe they'll be the ones to change."

"God, here I thought you were going to lay some real Dumbledore wisdom on me," Santana said with a frustrated sigh. She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "Shows what you know."

Blaine smiled at her and shrugged. Because he knew that look.

Santana and Blaine joined Brittany on the ground, playing with her dolls until Blaine had to leave for dinner. The next day, in Glee club, Santana walked over to Blaine, linking pinkies with Brittany, and sat next to him. Rachel, on his other side, looked over at her with wide eyes. Blaine laughed, shrugging when she asked what was going on.

0000

Blaine (7:34pm): We won Sectionals! :D

Kurt (10:45pm): That's fantastic! I'm sorry it took so long to reply. Show just got out. I wasn't sure if I should even reply until the morning - but that's AMAZING Blaine. I wish I could have been there.

Blaine (10:47pm): Of course you can reply whenever you can, Kurt. And I still can't believe it.

Blaine (10:48pm): And your show was much more important than some dinky high school Sectionals! :P

Kurt (10:50): That's a lie! I would have been there if I could. Much rather, that is. And of course - from the sounds of it, a Michael Jackson set was bound to dominate.

Blaine (10:51): I wish you COULD have seen it. : )

Kurt (10:53): Well, my spies are everywhere…

Blaine (10:54): What?

Kurt (10:55): My dad went, since it was at McKinley. Got me a video of it, which I will no doubt watch tomorrow once he emails it to me!

Blaine (10:56): You didn't!

Kurt (10:57): I sure did! I hope you don't mind.

Blaine (11:08): Sorry, Rachel pulled me up for celebratory karaoke. And of course I don't mind. It means a lot that you want to see it at all.

Kurt (11:10): When will you learn, Tony boy?

Blaine (11:11): I miss you.

Blaine (11:11): Does that count as my wish?

Kurt (11:12): I miss you, too.

Kurt (11:12): And maybe your wish will come true. ;)

00000

"You look quite festive," said Kurt, eyeing Blaine's red cardigan and green shirt. "It's not even the second week of December."

Blaine smiled, reaching up to adjust his cardigan absently. "Why thank you," he said. "I'm going to take that completely as a compliment."

Kurt rolled his eyes, noticeable even on the slightly pixilated screen of their Skype call. "I'm sure the Glee club is nothing but Christmas songs right now. From what you've said, your director is big on themes."

"It is, actually," said Blaine with a grin. "And, on that note, I have amazing news!"

"Same here," said Kurt. "But you go first."

Blaine nodded, the excitement vibrating throughout his skin. Their afternoon, or evening (depending on how busy they both were) Skype "dates" were one of the favorite parts of Blaine's day. "Well, I didn't get to tell you yesterday, since it sort of slipped my mind," began Blaine. "But the local station here in Lima can't use the usual yull log burning video due to copyright issues, so they were searching for something else to air. And that is the Glee club!"

"Oh my god! That's fantastic!" Kurt clapped his hands in excitement.

"I mean, it's nothing compared to like, you, because it's only a local station," said Blaine. "But I mean - we're going to be on TV. It's _crazy_."

"Don't bring it down," said Kurt, bringing his finger up and wagging it in the camera's direction. "It's a huge milestone, so don't compare it to anyone else's accomplishments."

Blaine looked down at his keyboard for a moment, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess…and I mean, that's not even the best part."

"What is?"

"I sort of get a staring role, which I mean, I'm so new to the Glee club and I can't believe Artie wanted me to - Artie is the director, just like West Side Story - and it means a lot that he believes in me that much." Blaine sighed, a large smile on his face, and rested his chin on his hand. "Rachel is my costar, and we are married. We live in a house in the mountains and all our friends come to visit us."

"That's so amazing, Blaine," said Kurt. "I'm so proud of you."

Blaine blushed and gestured to Kurt. "And your good news?"

Kurt's smile wavered. "Well, my good news comes from some bad news. But the good news is pretty great."

"What is it?" asked Blaine, a bit worried.

"Well, I have been going in for a lot of auditions lately, after my tour," said Kurt. "And telling my agent that I didn't want the same old thing. So she made sure all the roles I would go in for weren't gay, because what you said a while ago…I want to be whatever I want. Well, none of them worked out." Kurt shrugged. "I don't know. They all recognized me just fine and a few said they even enjoyed my past roles, but in the end…I think that's all they saw when I auditioned."

"Kurt, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," said Kurt with a tone that told Blaine it really wasn't, but he was going to pretend. Blaine sighed. "But the good news is that, since I don't have any filming or recording going on, I can come back to Lima early!"

Blaine's eyes widened and he jumped up, pulling his laptop closer. "Are you - are you serious?"

Kurt laughed, one of those laughs that crinkled his eyes and showed his teeth. "Yes, I'm serious! I'm back in at the end of the week!"

"Oh my god, Kurt, I can't believe - I've been missing you _so _much."

"Same here," said Kurt. "I just - I don't know if this sounds totally weird, but I've just really missed touching you…and kissing," he mumbled.

Blaine let out a loud laugh. "Oh god, same here."

Kurt smiled, his eyes sparkling. "Well, we don't have to wait long now, do we? You're also invited to my house for dinner the night I get in. Carole and Finn will be there, too."

"Awesome!" said Blaine. They sat there, smiling at each other for a few moments and Blaine thought that in just a week, they wouldn't have a computer screen and a thousand miles between them.

Then Blaine remembered why Kurt would be here so early.

"Kurt," he said. "I really am sorry that you aren't being taken seriously with your roles," he said. "I just - you're an amazing actor. You could convince anyone that you're straight, I'm sure. I mean, if Artie thinks that Rachel and I can do that, you definitely could. It's ridiculous."

Kurt shrugged again. "It's just how Hollywood is. You don't get to do something out there, like this, unless you can prove to everyone else you can do it. They just aren't giving me that chance yet."

"You should show them," said Blaine. "Show them - tell them - you can do this. Scream it in a big way. Even if you have to write a role and cast yourself," he joked.

"Oh," said Kurt, a strange look coming onto his face.

"I know you'll get there, one day," continued Blaine. "I believe in you."

"Thank you, Blaine."

00000

Blaine reached for his phone, trying to avoid being poked in the eye by the fake purple Christmas tree that protruded from the back of the car, into the back seats where Blaine was smushed up against Rachel, Santana and Brittany. "Hey! Don't get fresh with me, Blainers!" said Santana as he reached into his pocket, which was right against her hip.

"Like I would," he teased, finally retrieving his phone. His eyes lit up when he saw Kurt's ID photo. "Kurt! Hey!"

"Hey there," he said. "My dad, Carole and I just watched your Christmas special. It was fantastic. You and Rachel would make a cute couple, if you lived in like, the 50's."

"Too bad I'm completely devoted to my awesome boyfriend," said Blaine.

"The only thing that was a bit weird was the Star Wars stuff," Kurt laughed. "But god, a tribute to Judy Garland's Christmas Special. Tell Artie I sort of love him, ok?"

"Should I be worried?"

"Never."

Blaine laughed, giddy that Kurt was in town right now. They realized soon after he had planned to come here that the day he came in from LA was the day of their Christmas special, so they had yet to see each other yet. Blaine and the rest of the New Directions had been busy all day preparing for the taping.

"So, when are you and Finn going to be home? We were sort of disappointed when the log burning started up again."

"Oh," said Blaine, looking up at Finn, who was in the passenger seat of Mr. Shuester's car. The rest of the Glee club was either in Mrs. Pillsbury or Artie's dad's car, on their way to the homeless shelter. "Well, we all got a little selfish this week, honestly. Coach Sylvester asked us to perform at a homeless shelter tonight, but then when we got offered the TV special…most of us decided to do that instead.

"Then Rory had that fantastic speech, which he completely changed from the script - Artie was pissed at first - and we decided that we shouldn't have bailed on our prior commitments." Blaine sighed, shaking his head. He couldn't believe he had been so wrapped up in the special. "Well, we're on our way there now. We'll probably do some singing and play with the kids there. It's the least we could do."

"Aww, that's sweet," said Kurt.

"So we probably won't make it back to your house tonight." Blaine sighed, trying to keep his disappointment out of his tone. "Maybe we could go out for coffee and breakfast in the morning?"

"Of course. You have fun, ok?"

When the Glee Club got there, they put their turkey and other food (props from their special) in the kitchen and stood near the piano to sing their Christmas song for all the kids and their parents. Blaine only had two lines in the song, but he was mostly just happy to sing background as the others sang, looking out at the kids' smiles.

"Should we sing another song?" asked Rachel when they finished.

"I think it would be criminal if you didn't."

Blaine jumped, spinning around as his eyes landed on -

"Kurt!"

Kurt's face transformed into a wide grin. Burt and Carole were standing at his side, all three caring a few plates of food, Burt carrying a large ham.

"What are you doing here?" Blaine said, walking over to him and wanting nothing more than to throw his arms around him and never look go.

"Like we were going to sit at home when you were here doing something like this," said Kurt with a teasing tone. "We're not heartless. We also figured that they could always use more food."

A few people working in the kitchens came back, taking the ham and pies from Carole, who quickly volunteered to help with the serving, hugging Finn before following them back to the kitchen and serving line.

"Are you sure it's ok?" said Blaine. Now that Kurt's hands were free, and they could hug (or god, kiss), he made himself refrain. They were in public, after all, and even if Kurt wasn't…Kurt, this was Ohio. "To be seen together like this?"

There were a few whispers and long gazes sent to Kurt by mostly the parents and a few older children in the homeless shelter. They knew who he was, but thankfully, no one seemed to be making it into a big deal.

"I'm just here because the Glee club my dad's girlfriend's son is in is here," said Kurt with a wink. "Obviously."

Blaine laughed and nodded. Rachel grabbed Kurt's arm, pulling him over toward the Glee club, frantically running through his holiday song repertoire so they could decide on a song. In the end, they selected "Let it Snow," which Kurt sang with Rachel, sing, in her words, "I'll be able to think on me feet in an impromptu duet much faster than anyone here."

After their second song, everyone split up around the room, talking to the kids and their parents. For the next hour, Blaine lost track of Kurt, who was mostly sticking close to Finn and Rachel. As it grew later, people began to filter to other parts of the homeless shelter and out of the cafeteria. The Glee club itself began to get back into groups to leave in the three cars that had taken them here.

"Blaine, are you coming with us?" asked Mr. Shuester, patting him on the back with a smile. Blaine looked over at Kurt, who was with his dad, Carole and Finn on the other side of the room. Kurt caught his eye, smiled, and called him over.

"No, I'll just get a ride with Kurt," he said. "But thank you."

"See you at school," he said.

Blaine walked over to Kurt, his stomach fluttering. Kurt grabbed his hand, squeezing. The kitchen was empty, save for them and Kurt's family. "I missed you," he said.

"Same," laughed Blaine, barely believing that Kurt was finally here in front of him again.

"We'll be in the car, kiddo," said Burt, patting Kurt on the shoulder. "Give you a few minutes."

Blaine watched as they left, Burt holding Carole's hand in his and Finn trailing after them, giving one look back at them.

"I like your dad," laughed Blaine.

"Same here."

They stared at each other for a few long moments, holding their hands tightly between each other.

"You're right," said Blaine suddenly, making Kurt raise his eyebrow. "That this is going to be hard. I can't believe how much I've wanted to be in the same room with you in the last month and a half. And now that you're here…it's just going to get harder once you leave."

"I'm sorry," said Kurt, taking a step closer to Blaine, his forehead coming to rest on Blaine's. "I feel the same way…."

Blaine leaned forward, because Kurt's lips were too close in that moment not to kiss. And with that, everything suddenly was better. He was breathing in Kurt, finally close enough to feel him. The weeks and weeks of only phone calls was suddenly worth it, because he was here, kissing him _now_.

Kurt let out a long breath when the parted and Blaine leaned forward, kissing his way away from Kurt's lips and to his cheek. They paused again, just letting their cheeks rest against each other in silence.

Blaine pulled away, just slight, so he could stare at Kurt. When Kurt opened his eyes, smiling at Blaine, his heart jumped.

"I love you," said Blaine, before he could completely process the words. Once they were said, though, they were so true, Blaine couldn't believe he had never said them before.

Kurt showed a moment of surprise, eyes widening just slightly. His hands tightened around Blaine's, and he pulled in closer.

"I love you, too."

00000


	6. Chapter 6

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! And keep the feedback coming. : ) **

0000

"Having you here is amazing," said Blaine, voice slightly muffled from the angle, his mouth pressing against Kurt's chest. "Being close…"

"Is amazing," finished Kurt. His arm was around Blaine's shoulders, his other hand resting on Blaine's forearm, where Blaine was wrapped up around Kurt's waist. Every so often, his fingers tracing their way up and down Blaine's arm, making the hair on them stand up.

"I wish it could be like this all the time," whispered Blaine.

"Me too."

A comfortable silence fell, the only sound coming from the crackling fireplace in front of them and the soft music from the stereo. They had just finished dinner, their empty dishes and glasses of sparkling cider on the coffee table.

"I can't believe you," Kurt had said when he'd entered the Anderson's home earlier that night. Blaine had been scrambling to make his house perfect for Kurt that night, because his parents were out of town and he had romantic dinner planned. The last week they'd spent time together at Kurt's, with his family, or in his room together (with the door open, as per Burt's rules).

"Too much?" Blaine asked, nervously looking at the dim lights, pasta dinner on the table, fire and music.

"It's really great," said Kurt, as he stepped up to kiss Blaine on the lips, lingering for a few moments.

Blaine sighed into Kurt's shirt, rubbing his chin against the soft fabric. Since Kurt had come back home for the holidays and they had confessed that they loved each other, Blaine felt _amazing_. It wasn't even that he felt different. Saying those words, in that moment, had felt natural. There was no pressure behind them, because they were real. Hearing them back, well, Blaine was relieved, but it also just felt…_right_.

Maybe it should frighten Blaine how fast they seemed to be moving. They had been together less than two months, after all, and barely in the same state for most of that.

It didn't matter, though. Blaine knew that. Kurt knew that.

"I wish you were graduating this year," said Kurt.

"Hmmm?"

"Then…you could come out to LA with me," said Kurt, almost hesitantly.

Blaine was so startled by that, that he pushed himself up, looking over at Kurt's face with wide eyes.

"Oh no, I was - that was way too soon," said Kurt. He brought his hand away from Blaine's arm, covering his eyes. "I'm sorry just - forget I said that."

"I don't want to," said Blaine quietly.

Kurt peeked through his fingers, looking hopeful.

"I mean, if you meant it," said Blaine.

"I did."

"Because we haven't been together long," said Blaine, voicing his previous thoughts.

"Doesn't matter to me, surprisingly," laughed Kurt. "God. I love you so much."

Blaine laughed, loving those words come from Kurt's mouth; he still hadn't gotten used to how beautiful and musical they sounded. He leaned over, kissing him - once, twice, three times - in a staccato rhythm.

"I want to graduate early now," sighed Blaine, deciding to sit up instead of lay back down, still molded to Kurt's side. Kurt moved his arm from his shoulders, coming to rest his head on it instead.

"Same here," sighed Kurt.

"I…I probably _could_."

Blaine's voice was quiet, hedging.

Blaine had been wanting to tell Kurt about this for a while. Every time they were on the phone just never seemed…right. It seemed wrong. Something like this, something that made Blaine still flinch thinking about and gave him nightmares sometimes, should be done in person.

"What do you mean?" asked Kurt after a pause, voice helpful, but not prodding.

"Remember when I said I was just a few months younger than you?" began Blaine, trying to keep his voice calm. "Well…I'm suppose to be a senior this year. I was…after the Sadie Hawkins, I was hurt pretty bad. I broke my right arm, because…I fell down the stairs." _Pushed down_. "Some of my ribs were broken, others bruised." _Because I was a punching bag_. "And I had a concussion." _I was punched so hard_. "Because of it…I stayed home for months recovering. I tried to do homework and stay on track, but I had headaches and I couldn't even write with my broken arm."

Blaine chanced a look over at Kurt. He was staring back at him, eyes wide and wet. Blaine swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I had missed so much, my parents decided that I shouldn't stress myself. I did a lot of my work from my first semester in my second, but come what would have been sophomore year…well, when I enrolled in Dalton, education was higher there and I was put into the freshman class instead."

Blaine felt a light, comforting weight on his hand, laying limply on his leg. It was Kurt's hand, squeezing his fingers gently. "It's okay, Blaine. Nothing like that will happen to you again. I…won't let it."

Blaine smiled weakly at Kurt, letting out the breath he had been holding.

"I've always hated being held back," he said. "It was like I was being punished for something I couldn't control…" Blaine chewed his bottom lip for a moment, thoughtful. "But…my parents and I had thought about this when we enrolled me into McKinley…their academics aren't as tough as Dalton. I did think that maybe, I could…but I didn't want to stick out at first. I just enrolled as a junior."

"But you think you could graduate this year? You really think so?" asked Kurt, tone hopeful.

"Maybe. I'd really just have to talk with the school about that. I'd have to do a lot more work…and I don't know if I'd really have time for applying to colleges on top of that. I've already taken the SAT, at least. At most, I might have to settle for a community college my first year. But…I think it would be possible."

"A…community college in California?" asked Kurt, a pleased smile tugging at his lips.

Blaine laughed, reaching forward and pulling Kurt into a hug. "Yes. I'll have to talk to my parents. I know they probably wouldn't approve…they barely approve of me being in a relationship at all, but well, I'll be 18 soon, right? I should make adult decisions for myself, right?"

"Right," Kurt laughed. "That would be…amazing, living in the same city."

"I like the sound of it already," said Blaine, leaning in and kissing Kurt, pulling him closer, eventually falling back into the couch, giggling and kissing.

00000

"Come on, Finn, breathe a minute, the present isn't going to disappear if you don't tear off the paper," said Kurt with a huff.

"He's like a kid," laughed Blaine.

"Come on, you're next, Kurt," said Burt, handing a present over to Kurt.

Blaine smiled as Kurt opened it, with enthusiasm, though measured unlike Finn. He had to admit, this was much better than a Christmas morning at his house, which was empty. His parents had gotten stuck in New York because of storms, and his brother Cooper had stuff with work in California, eliminating the chance of him coming home for the holidays too. When Kurt heard, he was automatically being set up in the Hummel's guest room.

Carole and Finn were there, of course, since they had recently moved in together. Finn had mostly taken over Kurt's basement room, since Kurt usually wasn't there. Now, they were sharing the room, much to Kurt's annoyance. "It's a pig sty, Blaine. I wouldn't be surprised if Wilbur suddenly popped out of his closet."

"Blaine! You're next up!"

Blaine blinked, accepting the gift Burt was handing him mostly out of surprise. "Wait - what -"

"You didn't think you'd open nothing on Christmas morning, did you, sweetie?" asked Carole, a matronly smile sent in his direction as she patted his knee.

"But I - you didn't know I was coming until yesterday."

"Carole went out and picked out a few things for you," said Burt. "Nothing too special, so don't you dare say you can't accept."

"Open then!" chanted Finn.

Blaine laughed, shrugging and opening the festive paper, suddenly embarrassed. Inside the box were a few bowties. One was black with white strips, another slimmer and a solid red.

"Thank you so much," he said, laughing and pulling the bowtie up to hold in front of his pajama shirt.

"I saw a few when I was shopping, and it made me think of the Christmas special," said Carole with a laugh. "I figured that you really liked them, because of that joke. Plus, I think the few times I've seen you you've been wearing them."

"I love bowties, it's a perfect gift - thank you, Carole."

After opening presents (Blaine received two more, which made him happier than he realized it would), Burt made them a breakfast of pancakes. Then cleanup began in the living room, putting all the paper in trash bags and then taking their gifts up to their rooms. Finn was giddy, taking his presents down the stairs. Kurt rolled his eyes, following after him with his own gifts.

Blaine smiled, going down the hall to the guest room, laying his gifts carefully down on the bed and smiling down at them. "Knock knock?"

Blaine looked over, smiling when Kurt walked into the room, jumping on his bed. "Hey," he said, leaning over and kissing Kurt.

"I have a present for you," said Kurt brightly.

"_Kurt_."

"It's nothing fancy," said Kurt, waving his hand. "I know I'm more or less forbidden - which will not work when you're in LA with me, because I'm taking you shopping that first day no matter what, mind you - but it's Christmas. I had to get you something."

"You're impossible."

"Thank you!"

Kurt handed him an envelope, which he had been hiding. Blaine sighed, but then remembered that his own gift was in his pocket, and opened it.

Then promptly stopped breathing.

"Kurt."

"_Blaine_," said Kurt, mocking his tone.

"If this is what you mean by 'nothing fancy', we really need to examine your definition of 'fancy'. Because - oh god."

"You don't like it?" Blaine looked up at Kurt, who was frowning.

"No, of course I love it. But I mean - _wow_." He stared down at the two round trip tickets to LA and back to Ohio. "When are they for? Why are there two?"

"It's for Spring Break," said Kurt. "And the other is for Rachel. I like her. I want to spend time with the both of you. And don't worry - I have a friend that will totally baby sit Rachel when we want to be alone that week." Kurt smiled. "You like it?"

"I love it. And I'm sure Rachel will be thrilled." Blaine leaned over, kissing Kurt's cheek. "Now," said Blaine, face already growing hot. "I…have your present."

Kurt looked surprised for a moment, then a grin spread over his face. "For me?"

"It's definitely not something like this. I just - I wasn't sure what to even get you," said Blaine with a heavy sigh. "You have much, much more money than my family, and we're well off -"

"_Blaine_."

"So, I decided against buying you something that you could just buy yourself," said Blaine. "So…I made you something." Blaine pulled out the small ring box with a small, red bow on it from his pocket. He laughed nervously. "It's…lame, in comparison and -"

"Blaine." Kurt reached over, bringing his hand up to Blaine's cheek, his gentle touch making Blaine's skin prickle. "It could never be lame, if it comes from your heart."

Blaine smiled, holding the box out to Kurt. Kurt's hand fell from his cheek and reached for it, opening it quickly.

"Oh my -"

"It's a ring. Well, a ring I made. My mom, she was into making jewelry for a while, and she still had all her supplies in our garage," said Blaine in a rush. "So I thought, well, you couldn't get this anywhere else, right? And the color of that jewel - not expensive or anything - it reminded me of the color of your eyes and-"

Blaine couldn't finish his long, rambling thought (thank God) because suddenly, lips were hard against his, Kurt's hands on the back of his neck, fingers threading through his hair and pulling him closer, closer. Blaine breathed in sharply, bringing his hands up to Kurt's waist, thumbs brushing up against the naked skin, uncovered from the top that was riding up.

Kurt sucked Blaine's bottom lip into his mouth, making a low moan rise up in his throat and he felt like suddenly, all the blood in his body was magma, flowing hotly through his veins. Blaine, he wanted to be closer to Kurt. Kiss him like this for hours, because this - _this _- was heaven.

A loud knock made them both spring apart, eyes turning in unison to the door. Burt was standing there, looking more amused than upset (Blaine's door had been opened, after all, and they were feet from the bed) and yet, Blaine's body now burnt for a different reason.

"Why don't you kids come down stairs," said Burt, tone light, but Blaine felt like it sounded he was bound to laugh at any more. "We're about to start watching some Christmas movies together."

"Ok, dad, we'll be right down," said Kurt, breathless and voice higher than usual. Blaine nodded.

Burt chuckled, turning and beginning to walk down the hall. "Thanks for leaving the door open, at least," he called.

"Oh god," said Kurt, forehead falling into his hands. "Oh god, that was - that's never happening again. How embarrassing was that?"

"Well," said Blaine. "I guess…you liked your present?"

Kurt's head came up, a smile already on his lips. "I love it, Blaine. I just - you worked so hard on it, I know. And it's beautiful. You…it just, blows me away, how much it means to me."

Blaine reached down, grabbing the ring that had fallen to the ground in their, uh, embrace. He held it out to Kurt again. Kurt laughed, taking it. He pulled the ring out of its box, slipping it onto his ring finger on his left hand, the only one it fit. "Perfect," he said, admiring it. They exchanged a look, silently noting the significance of which finger Kurt put it on. It was like this ring was a promise that didn't even need to be said.

It was a simple ring, faded silver band, with some swirling carvings winding around the band itself. In the center was the small jewel Blaine had mentioned, a bright blue color that, when moved toward the light, almost cast a greenish color.

Kurt reached with the hand that now sported the ring, grabbing Blaine's own hand. "I love you," said Kurt, his forehead falling against Blaine's.

"I love you, too," said Blaine.

Kurt sighed, his breath tickling Blaine's face. "I suppose we better go downstairs. I don't even want to know what my dad was thinking when he found us…"

"I hope we can watch _A Christmas Story_," said Blaine, tone light, as they walked downstairs.

Kurt groaned. "Oh god, you're like _Finn_. That's all he's been talking about all week."

000000

On Blaine's first day back to school, he went to the office to talk to his academic councilor. Mrs. Jones was an older woman and, at his request to be able to lodge for graduation this year, looked mildly shocked.

"Well," she said, pulling up his transcripts. "You just transferred to us from Dalton? I see your grades there were good…" Mrs. Jones looked at the transcripts for a few moments and nodded. "I see Dalton also has more classes per semester than McKinley."

"Yes, they do."

"Hmmm." After a few minutes, Mrs. Jones turned her computer toward Blaine. "Theses are the credits you still have left to take next year. Not including the classes you are enrolled in this semester." She began to point out the needed credits. "You still have your senior English credit to take. Thankfully you are done with math this year, already being in a traditionally senior math class. You also need do take the Government class that we require all seniors take. You also need one more elective credit."

"Okay," said Blaine, drawing out the word. "And…would that be possible to do this semester?"

Mrs. Jones nodded, reaching into her desk for some papers. "Yes. The English credit could be taken with the Lima Community College, which we have a good relationship with. Their English 101 class would count as the Senior English you need. You still have two more weeks to register for that class, which you'd have to do with the college itself." Blaine took the Lima Community College catalog, smiling down at it. "Since you won't be 17 for another month, you'll have to have one of your parents go with you to register for that."

"And would the college course cost money?" asked Blaine. "I just want to make sure."

"No," said Mrs. Jones. "We want our students to succeed. The college allows students to take up to three college credits, which would be your English class, free a semester. Many of our students in the past few years since allowing this have graduated high school with almost enough credits for an associates degree."

"Oh wow, that's amazing," said Blaine, smiling at his luck.

"Now, with the Government class," said Mrs. Jones. "You're aware we have a zero hour, which is a class period that is held before school officially begins. We have a handful of classes being held at that time. Some science and history, including that class."

"Can I get into it?" asked Blaine.

"Mr. Anderson, can I ask…why go to all this trouble?" asked Mrs. Jones. "You certainly can transfer into the zero hour class. But…your day would be quite busy. Even if the college course would only meet two days a week. Why do you want to graduate early?"

"There are…many reasons," said Blaine, trying to choose his words carefully. "High school and I…have never gone well together. I was held back as a freshman, because I had injuries that prevented me from completing my first semester. Next year, most of my friends will be gone. They're seniors." Blaine sighed. "I also…I want to be with my boyfriend," he admitted. "He lives in California. I don't want to wait a whole year to join him. And even if I didn't have him…I want to get out of here. I want to start my life."

Mrs. Jones nodded, turning back to her computer. "I can put you into that class right now," she said. "You missed today's class, but I'm sure it won't be a problem."

"Thank you," he said.

"Now, we have to deal with your elective credit still remaining," she said. "Most of those classes met during the times you already have classes, during the day. If you could take something after school, perhaps…" Blaine thought, wondering what he could possibly do… "Oh!" exclaimed Mrs. Jones. "You're in Will's Glee club."

"Yes?"

"Glee club itself isn't an elective," said Mrs. Jones. "But, taking an arts related class is. In the past, we've had art students stay after school with the art teacher, taking a one-on-one skills class. Perhaps something that isn't offered to the level they need, like sculpting, or advanced drawing. You could take a voice lesson with Mr. Shuester. Half of it could even be musical instruction."

"With Brad!" said Blaine, suddenly remembering the mostly silent piano player. "He plays the piano for Glee club. I've taken piano before. Could my elective be half voice lessons with Mr. Shuester and half piano lessons with Brad? He's the music teacher here, isn't he?"

Mrs. Jones was nodding. "Yes, I think the school would accept that… you just need to speak to both Mr. Shuester and Mr. Ellis, then all of you sit down with Mr. Figgins to make it official."

"I can do that," said Blaine, standing. "I'll do it right now. I just - thank you so much, Mrs. Jones."

She smiled at him, nodding. "You're welcome, Mr. Anderson."

000000

When Blaine brings Mr. Shuester and Brad into the choir room and explains exactly want he needs to graduate this semester, they both seemed thrilled. Or at least, Mr. Shuester is vocal about it. He can only speculate what Brad thinks.

"I think it's amazing that you're taking charge of your education like this, Blaine," said Mr. Shuester. "I for one would be happy to do voice lessons with you. I'll have to make a worthy lesson plan, of course. And we can work around what is bound to be your crazy schedule."

Blaine grinned, liking Mr. Shuester more in that moment than since he moved here. He turned to Brad, still silent at the piano bench. "And Brad? Will you do the other half of the lesson? I've played piano since I was five, but I might be a little rusty. I don't practice as regularly as I used to."

Brad looked thoughtful, then nodded.

Blaine actually jumped into the air, he was so happy.

Although, he was curious to see how the piano lessons would work if Brad still never talked to him, since he'd never heard the man speak a word.

00000

The next few days were busy for Blaine. He finally had to tell his parents about his plans to graduate early. At first, he was sure his dad was proud of it all. "You're showing some real drive here, son," he said, smile on his face. "Though, won't applying to colleges so late be…difficult?"

Blaine nodded at this. "Well, I mostly thought that if I did this, I would have to attend a community college for the first year, then collect myself and apply to universities, if that's what I want."

"Would you just stay here, and go to Lima Community, where you're taking the English class?" asked his mother.

This time, he hesitated. This was it.

"I was planning on going to California," said Blaine, biting the bullet. "To be with Kurt."

That caused a long, stressful silence.

"That…boy?" asked his dad, voice strange. "You've barely even known each other. You can't just…expect to move across the country for him."

"I love him, dad," said Blaine.

"And how do you expect to find a place to live there? Money to go to college? I won't help you, if that's what your choice is."

"Charles -"

"No, I won't," said his dad, looking at his mother.

"Cooper has a place in San Diego," said Blaine. "I can go there. I'll still be closer to Kurt than I am now," said Blaine. "He'd let me stay with him for at least a little while. And…I can get a job."

"Oh sweetie, we're going to help you with college."

"Marie -"

"No," said his mom, voice firm and absolute. She turned to his dad, eyes burning. "My baby is not going to put off college just because he can't afford it. We have a good lifestyle. We are lucky enough that we can afford sending our children to college, and by god I'm going to give that to him."

The next day, his mom took him down to Lima Community to register for his English class. Blaine knew that he at least had his mother on his side. She even asked him about Kurt on the way there and back, trying to make conversation about him. Not necessarily their relationship, because even he knew that though his mom loved him, she still wasn't comfortable with that. Mostly, she wanted to know more about Kurt.

Blaine was all to happy to gush about him, and all the time they had spent together during Christmas break. Up until he had left for home last week.

After telling his parents and registering for English, he had his meeting with Mr. Shuester, Brad and Mr. Figgins. Everything with that well smoothly, since he would be taking the classes after school primarily, except on Tuesdays and Thursdays when he had his college English class.

"Mr. Anderson," said Mr. Figgins as they all stood up after the meeting was dismissed and everything was in order. "You are officially a senior, and will be in graduation this year - if you pass all your classes as they are this semester." He held out his hand and Blaine reached forward, shaking it enthusiastically.

00000

"Oh my god," said Kurt, eyes wide as Blaine explained everything that had happened in the last few days on their Skype call. He didn't want to tell Kurt until he was positive that he would be able to graduate. "I can't believe - wow."

"I know," laughed Blaine. "I'm so glad I thought of this. I mean, it is actually pretty easy for me to graduate early. It would have been torture to stay there for another year."

"But, you'll be so busy this semester. I don't want you to work too hard," said Kurt, looking worried.

"It will all be worth it," said Blaine with a shrug. "My regular class load at McKinley won't be too hard, as well. It's just the amount of work. But I can make it work just fine."

"I'm so proud of you," said Kurt, eyes so earnest Blaine lost his breath. He was leaning his chin up against his hand, ring visible (making Blaine's heart lurch, because he was _wearing _it.) "And, quite flattered that you'd do this just to come to LA with me."

"Only for you," teased Blaine, even though it was more true than not.

"I actually have something to tell you," said Kurt, looking a little nervous. "You sort of…inspired me to do it. My dad, too."

"Really now?"

"I've been talking to him about not getting the roles I want, same as I do with you," said Kurt. "He told me the same thing you said. That if I can't get the roles that people have out there…that I should write my own." Kurt paused for a moment, a small, nervous smile on his face. "Which is why I started my own screenplay."

"No way!" exclaimed Blaine. "Oh my - Kurt! That's amazing."

Kurt laughed, a bubbly, giddy sound. It was Blaine's favorite. "I can't believe it - but I actually really like the writing process. I've never really thought much of it. I'm collaborating with a friend of mine in the business as well. He's big on helping me edit, and pushing better ideas out of me. It's going so well. The character I'm writing for myself, he's straight, and so much different than the roles I already play."

"That's amazing, Kurt. Really." Blaine couldn't stop smiling. "Just watch: you'll get this movie picked up one day, star in it, and you can show everyone that you can do it. You'll finally get offered those roles."

Kurt laughed. "Well, let me just finished it first. My agent said she would try her best to get someone to look at it. She said it might not be too hard, since they might just think it would do well because I wrote it. People will see it, just to see if it's a train wreck."

"But it won't," said Blaine. "Because it will win all the awards. I'm sure of it."

"You must really love me," said Kurt. "You haven't even seen it. It could be crap."

"I do love you," said Blaine. "And it's not."

0000


	7. Chapter 7

**So the song used in this chapter is "All My Loving" from the Beatles! : ) Go look it up (I leaned more toward the original and not the Across the Universe.) It might be a little bit more upbeat, with a more acoustic feel in this fic! **

0000

Blaine's semester is, unsurprisingly, busy. He spends most of his time doing homework or getting some studying done. He and Kurt have fallen into the habit of calling each other on Skype, talking for a bit, then going about their tasks with the call still open. Blaine puts his laptop on one side of his desk, his books and notebook on the other, and reads.

Sometimes, Blaine will look up and smile at Kurt, who will sometimes be looking over lines of potential scripts for auditions, or more often than not, writing his screenplay. He loves the look Kurt gets when he works, one of utter concentration and dedication. He knows that Kurt looks at him sometimes, too, when he works, because they caught themselves staring one time.

"You make it hard to work, sometimes," Kurt had admitted.

"You, too," Blaine said, a goofy smile on his face.

"But we should."

"Work?" Blaine sighed heavily. "If you insist."

Blaine loves those calls. In his Skype log, it looks like they've talked for over 7 hours every night. Most of it isn't even words, though. It's just having each other close, hearing the other breathe, or laugh absently as they read and pretend that they're actually in the same room.

Even though Blaine has more work than he ever thought, he feels good about it all. All his senior friends had rejoiced at the news that he would be graduating with them. Artie and Tina had looked on, happy smiles, but he also knew that they might have wanted him to stick around. Now the Glee club would be down another person at the beginning of next school year.

Blaine is sitting in his study hall period, pouring over his English textbook, when a magazine is thrown on the table in front of him. Blaine looks up, glaring at Rachel and then looking around the library to make sure the librarian doesn't notice her.

"What are you doing here, Rachel?" he whispers.

"Just a quick trip to the restroom," she said. "And I wanted to share the Entertainment Weekly I received in the mail this morning with you. I feel like you'll find something in there quite interesting." Rachel winked at Blaine and he sighed, waving after her as she skipped out of the library.

Blaine finished up the chapter in his English book before even looking back at the magazine. He looked at the glossy cover with boredom, wondering what Rachel was even getting at.

Then he noticed it: a smiling photo of Kurt, taken at a distance, but slightly zoomed in on the cover, just in the right corner. Next to the photo is a short tagline reading: "DOES KURT HUMMEL HAVE A NEW BEAU?"

Blaine's eyes widened and he picked up the magazine, rereading it once more. He flipped through the pages, trying to find the story. It wasn't in the table of context, which meant it probably wasn't a big story. Blaine turned page after page, searching for the familiar face. He finally found it, in a two-page spread entitled "CELEBRITY SPOTTINGS".

It was the same photo of Kurt. He was outside, walking somewhere, and as put together as he always was (Blaine could never recall Kurt being photographed in anything less than his best, even by the paparazzi). The photo had a circle around his left hand, then an enlarged photo of his hand just next to the original. It was drawing attention to the ring Blaine had given him for Christmas. Blaine blinked a few times at the photo, then looked over to the small paragraph next to it.

"_We spotted actor and singer Kurt Hummel doing some shopping and we couldn't help but notice a new addition to his left hand. Yes, he's definitely wearing a ring, and it most definitely is on his ring finger. So, most importantly, could we find out who the guy that put a ring on it is? And is this reason enough to repeal Prop 8? Yes, we thought so too_."

Blaine set the magazine down on the table gently, still looking down at the photo with a frown, his stomach jumping. Then, he smiled, as he reread the paragraph. Sure, it was gossip, but it wasn't hurtful. It was surprisingly positive.

Another part of Blaine flared with pride. That was his ring that he'd given Kurt, still on his hand over a month after Christmas. He honestly wasn't sure if Kurt would wear it often, and if his wearing it for the holidays was just him being polite, but there was the proof: Kurt was still wearing it as recent as this photo had been taken.

Blaine pulled out his phone, making sure he couldn't be seen by the librarian, and typed out a message to Kurt.

Blaine (1:34): Have you seen Entertainment Weekly? (:

It was only a few minutes later that he received a reply.

Kurt (1:38): Oh, I saw it. And there is more. I'll fill you in after school and Glee club. xo

Thankfully, the rest of his class flew by. After school they had a short Glee practice and since it was Monday, Blaine didn't have his English class after school. Blaine hurried home and turned on his computer as he slipped out of his shoes. Kurt was already online and he automatically called him on Skype.

"Hello!" said Kurt as his face came into view. Blaine smiled and greeted him.

"That photo…it's strange, seeing something in a magazine that I know I gave you," said Blaine, a small smile playing at his lips.

Kurt chuckled at him, leaning his chin onto his hand. "You're cute." Then he rolled his eyes. "You don't know the half of it. It's been rumors-ville for me the last few days. Especially last night at the Golden Globes."

Blaine grinned as he remembered how much Kurt had been talking about the award show in the last week. He talked constantly about what he would be wearing, something striking, but not too out there. Kurt and the rest of his cast was nominated for an award, and they were favorites to win, but Kurt wasn't too worried. He would be thrilled if they won (which they did, Blaine heard this morning) but it wasn't just him that would do it, after all.

"How was it?" asked Blaine. "Was your suit a hit?"

"Of course," said Kurt, as if the thought of it being anything but was laughable. "But well, I didn't realize how many people would have seen the Entertainment Weekly. Or just noticed my ring. On the red carpet."

"Oh."

Kurt laughed and smiled. "Yeah. Ryan Seacrest was particularly into getting me to tell him _everything_. He asked me where I had gotten the ring and well, I was sort of surprised. I looked down at it and just sort of smiled, try to play coy. I wasn't even sure if I should say 'my boyfriend'. He asked me if it was an engagement ring and I answered that. No, of course. Because it _technically _isn't."

"Wow," said Blaine. "Were all the interviews like that?"

"They asked questions about my future plans. I told them I was deciding between wanting to do more movies or music at the moment," answered Kurt. "But yes, most just wanted to know if I had a boyfriend."

"What did you actually say?"

"That I wasn't sure if I should answer," said Kurt with a shrug. "Then I quickly deflected. I'm good at that."

"You could have said you had a boyfriend," said Blaine trying to keep his voice light. "And that he did get you the ring for Christmas. That it just so happened to fit that finger."

"Are - are you sure?" asked Kurt, eyes wide.

"Why not?" asked Blaine. "I mean, they obviously won't stop asking until they get the answer they want, and especially since it's true…." He shrugged. "It's not like they would ever say 'oh, is it Blaine Anderson from rural Ohio?'" Kurt laughed, a snort coming out. "See. It's ridiculous. And this way, I'll know that no guys are going around hitting on you." His tone was bright.

"Like I'd give them the time of day," said Kurt, rolling his eyes. His smile dropped. "Are you…sure?"

"Only if you are, Kurt," said Blaine. "You don't have to say you have a boyfriend if you don't want to."

"I want to," said Kurt. "So badly. I would love to tell _everyone _that you're my boyfriend. Everyday. Just because…I love you, Blaine. I don't want to hide that from anyone."

Blaine smiled and really, really want to reach out and take Kurt's hand. "I do, too. One day, we'll be able to. For now, you can say you have a boyfriend. It would be something."

Kurt smiled at him, bright and radiating. "Yeah, something."

00000

A week later Blaine and Rachel were laying down on his bed, watching television and mostly being lazy. Blaine didn't allow himself this too much anymore, but he'd actually gotten ahead on homework, and called Rachel over for the afternoon to do nothing.

Their show ended and Blaine started flipping through the stations to find something else. He thought about possibly putting on a movie when Rachel reached out, telling him to stop.

"What?" he asked.

"I totally saw Kurt. Go back."

Blaine flipped back a station; it was E! One of the entertainment shows were on, that always had all the celebrity and gossip on TV and movies. Kurt wasn't there now, at least, and Blaine felt a bit uneasy. Ever since he'd actually met Kurt, he never really liked watching this kind of stuff anymore. He used to watch it, waiting to glimpse Kurt and a handful of the other movie and TV stars he liked, but lately, it just seemed strange. Besides, he saw Kurt everyday. Rachel convinced him to stay on the station, though, and he agreed.

After ten minutes, it cut to a commercial - but not before talking about stories still coming up. Which is where Kurt's face flashed again, with the host accompanying it: " - and is Kurt Hummel engaged? Stay tuned to E!"

Blaine and Rachel laughed, falling back into the pillows. "Oh come on, Rachel, we know he isn't," said Blaine.

"But I want to see them say so," she giggled. "It's funny, knowing stuff they don't."

They only had to wait another ten minutes after the show came back to see Kurt's segment, which was actually part of the "So True So False."

Kurt's face appeared once more, talking into a microphone on some sort of red carpet.

"_We pointed out that Kurt Hummel, actor and singer, was seen sporting a ring on his ring finger, so is Kurt engaged_?" began the announcer. "_That is - so false. But that doesn't mean that he isn't currently seeing someone in this E! exclusive_!"

The sound on Kurt's interview turned up then and the interviewer asked if he was seeing anyone. Kurt laughed, looking down once before looking up, a serene smile on his face. "_I am, actually. I've been with my boyfriend since about October now_."

"Oh my god!" said Rachel, reaching out to grip Blaine's arm.

Blaine was surprised, too. Obviously they had talked about it, he just hadn't realized that Kurt had said this yet. It must be pretty recent, and they hadn't yet talked today.

The interview cut, as if the interviewer had asked another question. Kurt looked down, probably at his ring, and laughed. "_Oh no. We're way too young for that kind of thing. It was my Christmas present. He made it for me_." Kurt held up the ring, flashing it to the camera. "_It just fit on this finger the best_." Kurt's eyes glinted mischievously. "_And maybe I just like messing with you guys." _

The interview cut away, going to something about Anne Hathaway. Blaine and Rachel looked at each other, grinning madly.

"He told everyone," said Rachel. "Oh my gosh."

"I know," said Blaine, not able to contain his happiness. "I mean - I know that no one knows it's me. And I can't exactly say I have a boyfriend at school - but it's out there, in the universe. People sort of know."

"Aww, sweetie," said Rachel, leaning over and hugging him. "And that ring is beautiful. You should be proud of it."

"Thank you," said Blaine, voice muffled by Rachel's hair.

Finally satisfied, Rachel let him put in "Funny Girl" instead of watch the rest of E!. They cuddled up together to watch it (they knew their boyfriends wouldn't mind it very much, since to Blaine it was like cuddling up to a very small pillow).

"You ever think of how it will be?" asked Rachel, voice sleepy.

"What?"

"Being famous?" asked Rachel. "Or, before you get famous, coming out as Kurt's boyfriend. And sort of…getting fame from that."

"Not…really," said Blaine. "Not that last bit. I mean, I think about one day…doing what I love, and hoping that people like it." They stayed silent for a few long minutes, watching a musical performance in the movie. "You?"

"I just want to be known," said Rachel, voice soft. "I want to do what I love, but I want to get that rush of applause. I want to know that I'm making some sort of difference. That other people inspire to be me."

"One day," said Blaine, pulling her closer to his chest. "You will take me all around New York. And we'll stop in Times Square to look at the giant poster of you and just stare at it, because you've made it."

"That could happen for you, you know," said Rachel. "Or I could walk around New York, seeing your face on buses and movie posters. You could do anything: the stage, movie, television, music - you have so much talent, Blaine. What…what do you want to do?"

"I…don't know," said Blaine after a long moment. "Music, I think. But…I'm not a writer in that way. I wouldn't know what I would do."

"You just follow the music," said Rachel after a long moment. "If that's what you want to do, you do it. No matter what."

"I will, Rachel," said Blaine fiercely. "You have to promise me, too."

They watched the rest of the movie in silence. Blaine couldn't help but think of what Rachel said: would he but on a red carpet someday, like Kurt. Would he but holding hands with Kurt, as a million flashes went off? Blaine really didn't know, but he hoped so.

0000

Blaine is looking forward to Spring Break more and more, but that's the second week of March, a month a few days away. Mostly, he really wants Spring Break, because Valentine's day is in just a few days, but he doesn't get to see his boyfriend until that week in March.

Blaine sighed, closing his locker door (sparing one look at the new photo of both him and Kurt at Christmas) and looking around the hallway. Valentine's day had always been his favorite holiday, and he still loved it, but it was hard to enjoy it all when he didn't have his Valentine around to spend it with.

Mr. Shuester's assignment for this week was singing what they thought was the world's greatest love song. Most everyone else was choosing to duets with their girlfriends and boyfriends, but Blaine decided to do a solo. He sang "Silly Love Songs" at the beginning of the week, because Paul McCartney was _amazing_, and everyone seemed to like it, telling him as they packed up to leave for the day.

"Blaine!"

Blaine looked over to Sugar, eyes going to the giant red bow on her head first, then to her face. "Hello, Sugar," he said, voice light. He was a bit bummed that he'd probably not be able to go to Sugar's party at Breadsticks for Valentine's day, since no singles were allowed. He didn't mind too much - he'd probably just Skype with Kurt.

"I just wanted to tell you that you're totally still allowed to come to my party," said Sugar, in her usual tone. She smiled at him and Blaine smiled back.

"Woah - really? But I thought no singles were allowed."

"Well, you're not technically single," said Sugar, lowering her voice. "And your boyfriend is like, super famous, so I totally don't want to get on your bad side by not letting you come. Plus, you're totally cute and compact - like me! And you have to sing at my party, because you have the best voice in Glee club. Well, out of the boys."

"Thank you, Sugar," Blaine said, laughing. "I'm glad I get to come. It does sound like a lot of fun."

"But you have to let me pick out your outfit," said Sugar. "Because your bowties are super cute, but I want to make sure you're dressed right."

"O…kay?" said Blaine, smiling.

"So I'll be over at your house that night, around six to get ready. I'll also be asking your opinion on the dresses I'll bring over for myself, even thought they all look awesome on me, you're going to have to try to pick which one looks the _best_."

Finally, it occurred to Blaine what Sugar was asking: she wanted someone to get ready for her party with. Sugar, while actually pretty fun, still sat on the outside of the Glee club. Maybe more so than Blaine. She hung out with everyone, he guessed, but mostly as the third person in the group. He smiled at her and nodded enthusiastically.

"That sounds like a lot of fun! I wanted to get ready with someone," said Blaine. Sugar's smile was blinding.

"Yay!" she said, jumping up and down. Then she leaned over, pressing a kiss to Blaine's cheek. Blaine chuckled as she walked away, shaking his head.

Over the week, he and Kurt keep in contact, long conversations about how they wish they could spend Valentine's together and exchange gifts. Blaine agrees, and smiles, because he has secretly sent Kurt a card and called a local florist to send him a bouquet of daises, which are Kurt's favorite. He can't wait till Kurt tells him he got them, because they'll be a genuine surprise.

So, the week of Valentine's day doesn't turn out so bad. Sure, he thinks the amount of couples making out in the halls is depressing, and is just as annoyed at Mr. Figgins and the school for reprimanding Brittany and Santana from kissing, but besides this, it's fun. He spends more time with Sugar that week, who talks about what outfits she wants to wear for the party, because Rachel has been sucked into her couple bubble with Finn (which he understands; he would be the same if Kurt were here). It's actually fun.

On the actual day of Valentine's, Blaine looks forward to the party that night, and exchanges texts with Kurt all morning, smiling to himself. Blaine is in his afternoon history class, which is a mixture of juniors and seniors, so he not only has Rachel in the class, but most of the other people he likes from Glee (like Mike, Tina and Quinn). For the day, Mr. Shuster (who recently switched from being the Spanish teacher to History) lets them split into groups to work on their projects, since he knows no one will listen to him lecture on a day like today. Rachel is talking about Sugar's party later when he hears Mr. Shue call his name.

"Blaine - looks like you have a delivery."

Blaine looks over at the older man at the front of the class, who looks to be an overstressed floral delivery boy. "Oh," he said, blinking once. Behind him is Mercedes, Sam and a boy with dreads he doesn't recognize. "What - what is this?"

"Your flowers," said the boy and Blaine finally pushes himself to his feet and grabs the bouquet of red and yellow roses, leaning down and sniffing them with a smile. He leaves, but the others stay.

"What are you guys doing?" Blaine asked, and he's aware that Quinn is standing up behind him and then pulling him to the very front of the class. He feels like his face is burning.

"Your boy called us up, of course," said Mercedes with a laugh. The classroom whispers at that because, well, the school knows Blaine is gay and most of it hates him for it, but he's never said he had a boyfriend. And there aren't any other gay males in the school. "He hates that he can't be with you on Valentine's day, so he wanted to make sure you got your flowers, and he wanted the God Squad to sing a song to you." Mercedes looks over to the boy with dreads, who nods and smiles.

"Because love is love," he said and Blaine notices his guitar. "We want to sing to everyone, regardless of who it is they are dating."

Blaine's eyes sting, because he feels like he's going to cry. He can't believe that Kurt did this - and that they both decided that they were giving each other gifts, even thought they decided not to.

"So this is from K," said Quinn with a wink.

The boy with the guitar starts to play, just as Quinn and Mercedes begin to sing, their voices harmonizing together. Blaine recognizes the song immediately, and his heart jumps.

_Close your eyes and I'll kiss you,_

_Tomorrow I'll miss you;_

_Remember I'll always be true._

_And then while I'm away,_

_I'll write home ev'ry day,_

_And I'll send all my loving to you._

Mercedes and Quinn dance around Blaine as they sing and Mercedes leans over and "boops" his nose once, making him laugh. He stands there, with a ridiculous grin on his face, because Kurt sent him _this song_. This beautiful, beautiful song that is so _them_. It makes Blaine miss him even more.

Sam and the other guy start singing the next part, smiles on their face, and Blaine can't help but love them for this, too. Because they're two straight guys, singing about kissing to him, another _guy_. Not may people in even Glee club would do something like that, in the name of delivering a love message from another person's boyfriend.

_I'll pretend that I'm kissing_

_the lips I am missing_

_And hope that my dreams will come true._

_And then while I'm away,_

_I'll write home ev'ry day,_

_And I'll send all my loving to you._

Mercedes and Quinn join in once more, all four of them singing to him. Quinn reaches out and takes his hand, spinning him around once. Blaine laughs and he honestly hasn't been this happy for a long time.

_All my loving I will send to you._

_All my loving, darling I'll be true._

_All my loving I will send to you._

_All my loving darling I'll be True._

_All my loving All my loving ooh_

_All my loving I will send to you_

The guy ends with a few swipes to the guitar strings, smiling at them. Everyone in the classroom applauds and Blaine can't stop smiling.

"You guys - that was _amazing_." He leans over and hugs Quinn, then Mercedes, and reaches out and grabs Sam's hand, pulling him in for the one armed "bro" hug. He does the same to the other guy (he says his name is Joe).

"You can thank your beau later," said Mercedes.

They all said goodbye to Mr. Shuester and then left. Blaine took a seat again and was surprised to feel a poke on his shoulder. He turned, looking at the girl who sat behind him in the class. She was in a Cheerios uniform, but he couldn't say he knew her name.

"I can't believe your boyfriend did all that for you," she said, sounding envious. "I'll be lucky to get a card today."

Blaine smiled sympathetically at her.

"Yeah, and look at those roses," said the girl next to her, another Cheerio. "They must have cost a fortune today. Where is he? I mean, I'm pretty sure there aren't any other gay guys here."

"Who aren't in the closet," said her friend, the first girl who had spoken. They laughed, and Blaine wonders exactly what that's about.

"It's long distance," said Blaine, trying not to say too much. He wasn't exactly sure where they were going with this.

"Awww," they said. "That's horrible." Blaine shrugged. "It's not so bad."

"Well," said the first girl, voice low. The rest of the class had gone back to their groups. "I know that it's totally like, homophobic high here, but I totally don't care. My aunt is gay. Her partner is like, super nice to me. I don't get the big deal."

"Oh," said Blaine. "Thank you, uh -"

"Victoria. But you can call me Vicky." Vicky smiled.

"Vicky. Thanks. And hey, I hope your boyfriend does get something more than a card."

"Oh, I'll be sure of that," she said, her eyes mischievous.

Blaine turned back to his group, not as involved in the conversation now. He mostly looked down at his flowers with a soft smile. When class was released he immediately pulled out his phone. It was lunch, so Blaine told Rachel he would catch up with her as he walked outside, sitting on a bench near the front of the school.

The phone rang twice before Kurt answered with a tone that told Blaine that he knew he'd just received his gift.

"I love you," sighed Blaine into the receiver.

"And what brought this on?" Kurt asked, tone teasing.

"You know," said Blaine. "Honestly Kurt, it was perfect. The flowers, the song - the _song_."

"It's us," said Kurt simply.

"It is."

"And I got your flowers," said Kurt. "And your card. They're so beautiful, Blaine." He laughed, breathy and soft. "I love how neither of us listened about the no gift agreement."

"Of course not," said Blaine. "If we can't be together, we can at least know that we're both thinking of each other."

"I wish I could have been with you," said Kurt. "Sang you the song."

"I wish I could have sang you a song, too. I sang it to glee club instead."

"Well, I'm sure they appreciated it," said Kurt.

They talked for a few minutes, but Blaine admitted that he should probably go grab lunch. He had his English class tonight, then Sugar's party, so he couldn't skip a meal.

"You have fun at Sugar's party."

"Oh, I'm sure I will," laughed Blaine. "She's also coming over to get ready with me. She's nice, but a little…overbearing. She needs a friend."

"And that would be you, of course," laughed Kurt. "Always you."

"Hey now," said Blaine. He sighed. "I guess I can't expect you to surprise me at Sugar's party tonight by showing up?"

"Unfortunately no," sighed Kurt. "I'm almost finished writing, then I'm sending it off to my agent. She's going to try to work her magic by getting a movie deal. We'll see how it goes."

"I'm sure it will happen," said Blaine, completely honest. "And you get writing. And make sure to get some cheesecake on me tonight."

"Well," said Kurt, his voice low. "It would be _quite _good _on _you."

"Kurt!" Blaine exclaimed, with a scandalized tone.

Kurt was laughing loudly on the other end and Blaine joined. "I'm sorry - I couldn't resist. I just - I miss you. It would be funny."

"I miss you, too," said Blaine. "Gosh, what am I going to do with you. Only one thing on your mind."

"That's you," said Kurt without missing a beat.

"Well, we have that in common," countered Blaine.


	8. Chapter 8

**Yeah I know. It's been ages! I've been holding this chapter hostage, because I like to have at least one chapter after written before I post stuff…but I know I won't be writing anything until I'm done with school the second week of May, so I HAVE to give you something (assuming I still have readers!)**

00000

"Blaine, if you don't settle down they are going to kick us off this plane."

Blaine turned to Rachel, looking away from the window and frowned. "No they wouldn't. And we're in the air, Rachel. Like, 20 minutes away from the airport." These words sent Blaine's stomach falling, down to his shoes. He was 20 minutes away from Kurt.

And the drive to get to his apartment, but Blaine didn't want to count that.

"Fine, then stop being so fidgety in general," huffed Rachel. "I swear."

"But Rachel," said Blaine, dropping his voice. "I'm just so excited. I haven't seen Kurt since the beginning of _January_." Rachel's frown softened and she reached over, patting his hand a few times before looking back down at her magazine. Blaine turned back to the window, not able to see anything but clouds. That's all he'd seen for the over two and a half hour flight from Ohio, but now, these clouds were actually over where Kurt lived.

Blaine sighed, making himself settle back into his chair. He was itching to text Kurt. He had been all morning on the way to the airport, talking about how they couldn't believe it was finally Spring Break, but of course, his cell phone was stored in his bag, off. He sighed. Soon, however, he'd be able to talk to Kurt in person - hold him and kiss him.

If the last few minutes of this plane ride didn't inch by, that is.

Blaine quickly gathered his things when the plane landed and pulled into the terminal, Rachel quietly giggling at him. She looked excited to be in California for the first time, however, pushing on a pair of big sunglasses onto the top of her head as they began to walk to baggage claim. With their bags in hand, they walked out to the pick up and drop off, spotting a man with Blaine's last name on it.

Once they were in the car, driving out of the airport, both Rachel and Blaine looked out the windows in the back of the car in awe at the city. While Rachel said that it wasn't "quite as breathtaking as New York City," it was still _not _Lima, Ohio - so it was beautiful.

Blaine texted Kurt as they drove, telling him that he would be there soon. He didn't get an answer back, which made him nervous, so instead he stuffed his phone back into his pocket. The driver slowed down, pulling into a nice neighborhood and Blaine's heart beat quickened. The car stopped in front of the apartments. Blaine tipped him (since he'd already been paid by Kurt) and he and Rachel pulled their bags up the sidewalk.

"Oh god, it's beautiful," said Rachel, looking around as they neared. "The sky - and the plants - and it's so _warm_." She giggled. "Oh, I'm going to have to change once we get settled!"

Blaine lead Rachel to the apartment 104, which was Kurt's, nervous excitement still bubbling inside him. He rang the doorbell, stomach flipping at the sound.

It was only a few moments before the door opened, and Blaine had to drop his bags because suddenly, his arms were around Kurt and his face was buried into Kurt's neck, breathing in the scent that he'd been missing for months. Blaine was laughing and so was Kurt, hugging each other close. "I missed you," Blaine whispered breathlessly, just as Kurt did. They laughed again.

Finally, they pulled back, finally _looking _at each other and Blaine felt like he was going to drown in Kurt's eyes. He knew that Rachel was just behind them, but he didn't care - Blaine leaned in, pressing a closed mouth kiss to Kurt's lips. It was relatively short, but it was _everything_.

They broke away, laughing and Blaine pressed his forehead against Kurt's, wanting just one more moment of closeness. He stepped away, turning back to Rachel as he reached down to get his bags. She was smiling at them, eyes far away. Part of Blaine wondered if she was thinking about her dads.

"Rachel!" said Kurt, reaching over and pulling Rachel into a hug, then kissing her cheek. "God, I've missed you and your insanity."

"Excuse me!" Rachel tried to look affronted, but was still smiling.

"Come in," said Kurt, stepping back into his apartment. "I know your flight must have been horrible and long." Blaine shuffled into the door, looking around with a slightly awed expression at Kurt's living room. It was, as he expected, tastefully decorated. Very….Kurt, in all honesty.

"Oh my," said Rachel, turning around as she took in the whole room. "I've never known someone my age with their own apartment," she said with glee. Kurt laughed, stepping up to Blaine and slipping his hand into his. They looked at each other, smiling.

"Here, let me take you to your room," said Kurt, pulling Blaine's hand down the hallway. "I only have one spare room," he said as they walked. "So it's going to be a little crowded. I have a full bed, plus a futon I bought this weekend. I hope you don't mind terribly sharing."

"I get the bed!" called Rachel.

Blaine laughed. "Since I'm a gentleman."

The room was pretty spacious, or at least, would definitely be, but it was a bit cramped with the two beds. Rachel dropped her bags, falling down into the bed, which had elegant looking maroon comforter and pillows. She sighed contently, then turned, propping herself up with her arms.

"You know," she began with a suggestive tone. "I wouldn't judge you in the slightest if you two wanted to forgo the charade and just share Kurt's room. I completely understand." Rachel nodded, seeming proud of herself.

"Rachel!" squawked Blaine, who had been setting his suitcase on the unfolded futon. He dropped it, turning around and blushing, looking over to Kurt, who looked equally flustered. "I - we discussed - just - we haven't -" Rachel looked at him with a knowing look and Blaine turned away, not even wanting to look at Kurt.

Rachel giggled, standing and bringing her suitcase onto the bed. She pulls out a sun dress, smiling at it, then grabs her shower bag. "I'm going to go freshen up," she chirps. "And leave you be."

"The bathroom is just down the hall," said Kurt. "And to the right. Can't miss it."

"Thank you!"

Blaine waits till he hears the water down the hall before falling back and sitting on the futon, groaning. "Oh my god, I can't believe her."

"Blaine?" asked Kurt, his voice hesitant. He walks over and sits down next to Blaine, a safe distances away. "Do you think I'm…boring?"

Blaine looks at him, eyes wide. "You have to be joking. You're - Kurt, you're kind of famous. It's pretty hard to be boring."

"I mean…sexually," he said, coughing. "We do play it pretty safe."

"But…we haven't really been together _together _that long," said Blaine after a long moment. "I mean, there was Christmas break, but besides that, most of the relationship isn't spent physically near each other. So even though we've been together for…six months or so, we've only been with each other in the same room…?"

"Maybe a month," sighed Kurt, looking sad. "I know. It…stinks."

"Maybe that's why we're… 'boring'?" he asked. "We haven't been together long enough to be exciting." Blaine laughed once. He scooted closer to Kurt, putting a hand low on his back. "Look, Kurt, I want you to be comfortable. That way…I can be comfortable. So ignore what Rachel said about…sharing your bed. If it makes you uncomfortable. I think it's obvious that maybe we should be together more before we do anything, uh, constituting sharing a bed." Blaine was blushing, looking up at Kurt, trying to smile though the slight embarrassment.

"What if it didn't make me uncomfortable, though?" asked Kurt after a moment. Blaine blinks at him in surprise. "It's just - sharing my bed with you doesn't make me uncomfortable. And just because we're, hypothetically, sharing my bed, doesn't mean we have to do anything just yet, of course. So, there's a balance in our comfort levels, maybe?" Kurt sounds unsure of himself.

"You…want me to…share your bed?" asked Blaine.

"If you wanted to, yes," said Kurt breathlessly.

"I…I don't know," admitted Blaine.

Kurt smiled at him, leaning over and kissing him with barely any pressure, sweet and soft. He pulled away, still smiling. "It's okay, Blaine. You don't have to decide now. You have a whole week here. And there will be other times. It's like you said. I want you to be comfortable, so I can be comfortable."

Blaine laughed, leaning down to put his head on Kurt's shoulder, breathing out and suddenly feeling more relaxed than he had in months. "Thanks," he said. "I love this. Being with you, for real."

"Same here."

"You know what I like even more about being _together_?" asked Blaine, looking up at Kurt with a mischievous smile.

Kurt brought his arms up and settled them around the back of Blaine's neck, pulling Blaine closer to him. "I think I can guess this one," he said, voice low, before kissing him. This one was different than either of the previous kisses in the last ten minutes. This one was opened mouth and full of need, knocking the breath out of Blaine in a moment.

Thankfully, Rachel takes a long shower, so Blaine had plenty of time to get reacquainted with Kurt's (beautiful, soft, amazing) lips. At some point, Blaine's not absolutely sure how, he ends up on Kurt's lap, because really, it's a way to get closer in the end. A higher angle to his lips is finally granted and Blaine sighs with bliss against Kurt.

Rachel - again, bless her - has the decency to make a lot of noise as she comes walking down the hall. Blaine and Kurt jump and Blaine slides off his lap and back onto the couch. He looks from Kurt to the empty door, wondering how they should play this…

He decides that, yes, Rachel knows what they were doing, of course. He goes back to leaning against Kurt's shoulder.

"Hello boys!" said Rachel brightly as she enters, hair perfect and wearing a yellow sundress. "Blaine, you should clean up and change. More California and less Ohio. Maybe Kurt can take us sight seeing!" She clapped her hands as she sorted through the many pairs of sandals she had in her suitcase.

"Oh," said Blaine, looking over to Kurt with a nervous expression. "Are you going to be able to take us to really touristy places? Won't you be, uh, mobbed?"

Kurt smiled. "Well, I'll probably try to be inconspicuous. Plus, we might not go to very popular spots, if that's okay. It might not be the best idea…but I'll take you out wherever you want. And I'll at least brave the walk of fame, because you have to see that."

"And the beach?" asked Rachel.

Kurt winced. "The beach and I don't mix well." Rachel pouted. "But it's a pretty short drive from here. We could all go and you could get some beach time in. Maybe…Blaine and I could hit the pier? Unless you wanted to have some beach time as well?"

"I wouldn't mind some time in the water," said Blaine with a smile to Kurt. "But some time at the pier sounds amazing. As long as you're sure you're okay with it."

"Completely," said Kurt, pressing his hand to Blaine's. "And as for when you both want some beach time," said Kurt. "I can drop you off before driving to my meeting with my agent tomorrow morning. I hope that's okay. It's the only bit of work I have to deal with all week."

"That's completely fine," said Blaine. He stood, then leaned over to press a kiss to Kurt's cheek. "I'll get changed now. You and Rachel can talk about where you want to go first. I'm good with anything."

He looked through his suitcase, pulling out a pair of light colored capris and a plain, light blue t-shirt. He smiled as Rachel took his place on the futon, beginning to ask Kurt all about what they should end up seeing.

00000

After Blaine is showered and dressed, slipping on a pair of what Rachel dubs his "boating" shoes, they leave Kurt's apartment. Kurt, for what it's worth, puts on a fedora hat and a pair of sunglasses. He takes them to Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the area surrounding it to see the stars up and down the sidewalks. He and Rachel take photos near their favorite stars, and point out some of the hand prints in front of the theatre with awe.

Amazingly, Kurt isn't recognized, but then, it's so busy and Blaine is pretty sure no one would actually expect someone famous to be milling around with so many other tourists. When they're there, Blaine and Rachel both duck into a souvenir store to buy things for their friends and family.

Kurt takes them to an observation deck nearby that has a perfect view of the Hollywood sign, which both Rachel and Blaine take turns taking photos of themselves in front of. Then Kurt takes one of the two of them, laughing at their exuberance. Blaine takes that one with his phone so he can post it on his Facebook.

Kurt takes them to his favorite restaurant for a late lunch. Rachel, of course, monopolized much of the conversation (as she did), which left Kurt and Blaine there to sit and nod, occasionally offering up a word or two. Halfway through, Blaine slipped his hand under the table and put it on the booth's chair in between him and Kurt (Rachel sat across from them). After a few charged moments, Kurt's hand followed his, their fingers intertwining messily. Blaine looked over, offering what he knew was a dopy grin at Kurt, who returned it with a squeeze to Blaine's fingers.

After lunch, Kurt drove them to the beach, that he'd also take them to tomorrow, going to the pier and watched the sun set over the water, reflecting bright orange light across the surface. Kurt bought him and Rachel ice cream cones and the walked to the edge of the dock, leaning against the railing and watching as the sun sunk lower and lower.

"We aren't in Ohio anymore," said Rachel, voice filled with a quiet awe.

Blaine reached over, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh.

"We sure aren't, Rachel," he said. Blaine looked over at Kurt, who was looking at them with an amused smile, with just a hint of something else. Blaine reached over, putting his hand on Kurt's, which was holding on to the railing.

This, thought Blaine, was all he needed.

00000

The three of them spent the night curled up on Kurt's couch, watching movies and ordering a pizza pretty late, because of their late lunch. Finally, the jet lag caught up with them, and everyone decided that it was time to sleep. Rachel pulled her pajamas on in the bathroom first then crawled into bed, muttering goodnight to Blaine before he left to change as well. In the hallway Kurt kissed him on the cheek, wishing him sweet dreams.

Blaine made up the futon, already hearing the steady breaths from a sleeping Rachel on the other side of the room. He smiled before pulling the covers up to his chin and turning of the side lamp, drenching the room in darkness.

Blaine had been exhausted, but suddenly in the dark, comfortable in the bed, he couldn't fall asleep. He turned a few times, keeping his eyes shut and tried to drift off, but soon, he was staring up at the ceiling and trying to figure out why he wasn't sleeping.

Who was he _kidding_? He knew why. Kurt, his beautiful, amazing, _hot _boyfriend was just down the hall from him and he wasn't next to him. In his _bed_.

Which he had offered up to him.

After an internal argument, where Blaine wasn't sure if he should get up or not, he groaned quietly to himself (not wanting to wake Rachel) and pushed his blankets off him. The cold air hits his legs (he's in a pair of old shorts and a tank top - god, he really should have thought this out) and he quietly puts his feet on the ground, looking over at Rachel for a moment. He stands and slips out of the room, walking down the hallway slowly, trying to talk himself out of this, while at the same time build up the courage to open Kurt's door.

His door is actually open, which makes it easier. He slips in, looking at Kurt's room for only a moment, because it's too dark to see much, before settling on his bed. It looks like a queen or king bed, but he can't quite tell in the dark, and Blaine sees a distinctive lump under the covers laying more so on the right side. Blaine walks over to him and wonders how to approach the situation. It reminds him of when he was young and would have a nightmare. He would go straight to his parent's rooms and poke his mom, whispering her name brokenly. She would wake up and he told his parents he had a bad dream.

His dad had only let him sleep in their bed twice before he'd made him walk back to his room, head hung and tears threatening to spill. He was suppose to be a "big boy" his dad said.

As he made is way back to his room, he'd stopped at Cooper's door. His brother was older than him, Blaine had thought, maybe he'd be able to protect him from the monsters.

Which led him to poking his brother's shoulder and waking him up. Cooper had been just fine letting him sleep in his bed huddled against his side, as often as he wanted, until Blaine naturally got used to shaking off nightmares and going back to sleep by himself, his dad none the wiser.

"Kurt?" Blaine finally whispered, reaching out and placing his hand on Kurt's shoulder. Kurt blinked his eyes open, looking confused, until he saw Blaine. He smiled sleepily at him. "I just - hi."

"Hi," said Kurt, his voice slightly slurred with sleep. He yawned. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if…I could take you up on your offer?" asked Blaine, voice small. "Sleeping in your bed, that is."

Kurt's eyes lit up, even in the dark room. He nodded quickly. "Get in," he said, almost shyly. Blaine smiled and walked around the bed to the left side, lifting up the cover and crawling in. He laid down, facing Kurt. Kurt had turned as well and was now looking across the pillow at him, a wide grin on his face. They were in bed, _together_.

"I love you," said Kurt.

"I love you." Blaine paused, hesitating. "Can I….I've always wanted -" Blaine stopped, not sure how to even phrase what he wanted. He just knew he wanted Kurt to hold him in his arms as he fell asleep.

"You can ask me anything, Blaine," said Kurt gently.

Blaine dropped his voice lower, still embarrassed. "I've always wanted to be the little spoon," he said. "And I just…I really want you to hold me as I fall asleep."

"I want to hold you, too," said Kurt, breathless.

Blaine and Kurt laughed at themselves and Blaine turned on his other side. After a few minutes of awkwardly trying to find a comfortable position, Blaine was settled against Kurt's chest. One of Kurt's arms was slung over his waist, loose, but a heavy pressure that was actually comforting. Blaine felt solid, tethered to the earth by Kurt's body behind him and his arm around him. He sighed contently, his eyes drifting shut. Before completely surrendering to sleep, Blaine felt Kurt press a light kiss to the back of his neck.

0000

In the morning, it's one of the best moments of Blaine's life as he wakes up in Kurt's arms, only in a different position than he had fallen asleep. In their sleep, they had turned, Kurt on his back and Blaine laying in the crook of his shoulder, his arm slung across Kurt's chest. Kurt's arm is around his back, resting on his hip. Blaine is the first to wake up, stretching his legs and pointing his toes down, careful not to move too much to wake Kurt.

He does, however. Kurt blinks his eyes open, looking down at Blaine with a sleepy, but content, smile. "Hmmm, morning."

"Morning," answers Blaine. He turns his head, pressing a kiss to Kurt's collarbone, which is uncovered in his oversized, off the shoulder t-shirt.

"I could get used to this," said Kurt.

"You're not the only one."

They give themselves a few minutes to wake up, kissing each other's cheeks and avoiding their mouths because they don't want to deal with morning breath. Finally they roll out of bed, holding each others' hands as they walk down the hall and to the kitchen.

Where Rachel is sitting at the table, sipping on a cup of tea. She looks up at them, eyes twinkling.

"Well hello, boys," she said, far to cheerful and with a tone that says, 'I-told-you-so'. Blaine remembers, then, that Rachel gets up at about 6 am every morning. It's just past nine, now, so of course she's probably been up for at least a few hours.

"Rachel," said Kurt, biting his lip. He drops Blaine's hand, going over to make them coffee.

"Uh," said Blaine, taking a seat in front of Rachel. "The uh, futon was really uncomfortable," he lied. "I decided to sleep in Kurt's bed."

Rachel smiled and winked at him, making Blaine's face turn red. "Of course. I was sure that futon looked a bit uncomfortable."

Blaine wanted to both strangle and kiss Rachel, because after this, she dropped the subject, asking Kurt if he had any organic breakfast items (which he cheerfully replied that he did). Though she had dropped it, however, she still held an all knowing, superior look on her face.

00000

After breakfast, Rachel and Blaine changed into their swim suits. Blaine slipped a tank top on and slid into some sandals. Rachel wore a long, flowing dress over her suit and a floppy hat. Kurt drove them down to the beach and dropped them off. "Text me if you're sick of the beach," he said. "My meeting won't last too long, so I'll probably go back home until then."

Blaine and Rachel set up their camp a good fifteen feet away from the waves, borrowing some folding chairs from Kurt and a large umbrella. Rachel shed her dress and hat, pulling Blaine toward the ocean. Blaine laughed, pulling his own shirt over his head and then chasing Rachel toward the waves.

Blaine hadn't been to the beach since he was a kid, and Rachel had apparently never been. The water was a bit chilly, but it felt good with the sun beating down on them (Kurt had warned them about putting sunscreen on every hour or so). Blaine pulled Rachel deeper into the water, until she drew the line, which was when the water was above her waist.

"What about jellyfish!" she said. "And all sorts of other creepy stuff."

Blaine laughed, splashing her with the water. She gasped, splashing him back. "Don't worry about it!" he laughed, almost swallowing the water thrown at him as they dissolved into a full out war, finally stopping when they had been reduced to breathless giggles.

After a while they went back to their stuff. Rachel dried off a little and then set up her blanket further away from the umbrella so she could do some tanning. "Don't let me fall asleep," she said, laying down on her back.

"Of course not."

Blaine decided to stay under the umbrella, though he usually didn't burn easily, and read his book, burying his toes into the sand.

As they relaxed, a group of boys their age walked by, looking at Rachel in her bikini. One of them whistled at her and Blaine looked up at them with an eyebrow raised. Rachel looked up as well, blushing as the guys continued to stare. She waved, a flirty smile on her face.

"Keep on walking, boys," called Blaine. They rolled their eyes and continued on, throwing their football between them.

"Excuse me," huffed Rachel.

"You have Finn," said Blaine, looking back at his book.

Rachel sighed, turning over onto her stomach. "Yes, well, Finn knows I am nothing but faithful to him. It is flattering that these California boys appreciate something besides Quinn's beauty."

"Oh Rachel," laughed Blaine.

"What?"

"You really don't get how attractive you are, do you?"

Rachel looked up at him, chin propped on her hands. "You're gay, Blaine. What would you know?" There was a delicate blush rising on her cheeks, however.

"I still know when a girl is pretty, Rachel," he scoffed.

Of course, Rachel got her revenge later, when two girls in bikinis walked up to them, side-eying Rachel suspiciously. "Hi there," said one. "My friend and I were wondering if you'd like to get some ice cream with us." She gave Blaine a flirty look.

Rachel had noticed and had moved, sitting up on her blanket and grinning wickedly at Blaine. "I wouldn't do that," she said in a sink song voice.

The other girl frowned, looking between them. "What, are you his girlfriend?"

Blaine snorted and Rachel laughed. "Oh god no," she said with a giggle.

"Then I was right," said the first girl, bumping into her friend's hip. "They are brother and sister."

"Also not that," said Blaine with a polite smile. "Although, we do look a bit a like," said Blaine, looking over to Rachel with a confused expression. "Huh. That's weird."

"Then would you like to get an ice cream with us?" asked the first girl. "My boyfriend was going to join us, so my friend here would _love _to have someone to talk to as well."

Blaine gave the two girls an apologetic smile. His heart beat a bit faster, because usually he wouldn't even consider saying what he was about to back in Ohio - but this was _California_. "Sorry ladies, don't play for your team. I don't think my boyfriend would like that."

The girls' faces fell in unison. "_Oh_," said the first. "In that case - oh, I'm so sorry."

Her friend pouted. "It figures all the attractive guys on the beach are gay," she sighed dramatically.

They began to walk away, waving. "Have a nice day!" the called, leaving and giggling.

"I'm so telling Kurt about this!" said Rachel, standing gracefully and sitting down in the chair next to Blaine and reaching for one of the drinks in the cooler.

"Shut up," Blaine muttered.

They went back in the ocean a few more times, and even indulged in trying to make a sand castle. Rachel insisted, saying that she never had the experience when she was younger. It was pretty horrible - even the group of five year olds a few yards down from them were better - but it was fun.

It grew later in the day, after three Blaine thought, so they texted Kurt to get him to pick them up. They packed up and walked back up the beach, stopping at the showers to wash off the excess sand before getting in Kurt's car.

"Have fun?" Kurt asked when the found him in the parking lot. He was grinning at them.

"So much!" said Rachel. "And you'll be quite amused when I regal you with the story of these two girls hitting on Blaine."

"Rachel!"

"Ooh, _do _tell."

When they got back to Kurt's apartment they both took showers, washing away the feeling of sunblock and sand. Blaine sat down on the couch, instantly curling up against Kurt with a content sigh.

"Rachel," said Kurt as she sat down in the chair next to the couch. "I think both you and Blaine will find this pretty amusing…my publicist isn't the happiest, but oh well." He laughed.

"What is it?"

"My publicist and agent warned me that, well, we're going to be on E! tonight. They were called wanting a statement, and wanted to know what we should say."

"_What_?" squawked Rachel, sitting up straighter.

Kurt laughed. "Someone saw us leaving the restaurant yesterday. Took some photos. Of course, they called wanting to know if the boy I was with was my boyfriend." Kurt poked Blaine and he smiled. "We just said that you two were my friends visiting from Ohio."

"I'm going to be on _television_?" asked Rachel, and Blaine was pretty sure he saw stars in her eyes.

"Yes, Rachel," said Kurt with an amused expression in Blaine's direction.

"We are so watching - oh! I have to tell my dads!" Rachel continued to babble. Blaine leaned against Kurt, kissing his cheek, and trying to ignore most of it.

Of course later, they turned on the entertainment show and watched as Rachel grew more and more excited. Finally, the show moved on to a segment called "star sightings", and after showing a few photos of Taylor Lautner leaving the gym, it cut to a very familiar face.

"That's us! That's us!" exclaimed Rachel.

"_Movie star Kurt Hummel was spotted leaving an LA restaurant yesterday with two friends that are apparently from his home town. Now we just want to know if the cutie on his right is 'the boyfriend' we've been hearing so much about. If so, we __**totally **__approve." _

The photo changed to another, that was closer and just of Blaine and Kurt, looking at each other and frozen in a laugh.

Rachel sighed dreamily as it cut to another star sighting. Kurt reached up and muted the television. "This is just practice for the day I'm famous and the paparazzi is hounding me personally." Kurt rolled his eyes at her dramatics.

"Hey," said Blaine. "Looks like they would approve."

"I don't understand why you don't just come clean with it all," said Rachel, reaching for the bowl of organic chips Kurt had set out.

"The focus on you two will be enough now without adding the label 'boyfriend' to the list as well," said Kurt. "Just being my friends will add a spotlight."

"Which I'm completely okay with."

"Thank you, Rachel," laughed Kurt.

"Obviously it will happen at some point," said Blaine with a smile in Kurt's direction. "I mean, I'll be living in the same state come graduation. But until then…"

"Enjoy the anonymity when you can, Rachel," said Kurt, sending a wink in Blaine's direction. "Don't get me wrong, the fame is great. And it's amazing to have fans for doing the thing I love, but there are times you want to take off that costume and just be left alone. That can't happen, unfortunately." Kurt reached out and rested his hand on Blaine's.

Like wanting to reach out and hold your hand in public, thought Blaine. That would be a moment when cameras and prying eyes should be absent.

000000


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! I know it's been a while. Probably another chapter and an epilogue to go for this - maybe two chapters. Just depends on how long they run! **

**And no betaing for this - I really just need to get the motivation to finish this fic and it's been hard, so at this point I'm not really big on that kind of thing. **

**If FF ends up taking down any of my fics, including this one, you can find my stuff on my Tumblr under the url chatterboxrose! **

0

"We are going out!"

Kurt and Blaine looked up at Rachel from where she was standing, a very un-Rachel like dress on. It was tighter than her usual get up, stopping a few inches above her knees and a solid navy blue with a plunging neckline.

"Rachel?" asked Blaine, sitting up on the couch, Kurt following.

"We're in LA, and I want to do something crazy!" said Rachel, then she paused. "Well - not crazy. No drinking and such, but I would like to go out and - and dance! Or something."

Kurt chuckled and sat up, looking rather excited. "There is actually this karaoke bar that a lot of people I work with from time to time like… and people who are underage can go, there's no problem with that."

"Karaoke!"

"Oh god," said Blaine. "You've unleashed the beast."

"Go get ready! Go!" said Rachel, pulling Blaine's arm and getting him off the couch. Kurt laughed and they walked down the hall to get changed into something a bit more dressed up. Soon they were all gathered in Kurt's living room. Rachel had put on a pair of nice heels when they'd gotten ready so she was almost as tall as Blaine. Blaine had on a pair of dark jeans, a light pink dress shirt - tucked in - and a black and white bowtie that he'd been meaning to wear.

Kurt - well, he was stunning, as usually. He had on a pair of black pants that had to be painted on in Blaine's opinion, a crisp white dress shirt with a snug fitting grey vest with some chains hanging off of it. To complete the look, he had on a pair of polished white boots.

"I think we're ready," said Kurt with a grin. He looked over to Rachel. "I approve of your dress, by the way," he said in an innocent tone. Her smile was blinding in return.

"Kurt! You didn't get that for her, did you?" he asked.

They both laughed and Blaine pouted. He didn't like taking advantage of Kurt's wealth, though Rachel didn't seem to have to same idea.

"Relax," said Kurt, putting his arm around Blaine's waist. "It was just a small gift. I figured we'd get use of it on the trip and told her to pack it." He leaned over and kissed Blaine's cheek. "Now, let's get going!"

The karaoke bar was one of the nicest places Blaine had been to. It was dimly light, but with a lot of multicolored lights near the stage. There was a small bar and a lot of booths and tables scattered around. And the clientele - it was definitely Hollywood, Blaine thought as the entered and sat at a table. Kurt went to get their drinks and Blaine looked around. He was sure he recognized a few faces from a tabloid or two, and most everyone had a "posse" of some sort.

"This is amazing," said Rachel, talking slightly over the singer, a young girl in a shorter dress than Rachel's. Blaine agreed with her.

After Kurt returned with their drinks - virgin drinks and a coke for Blaine - they sipped and watched the performers.

"I'm signing us up," declared Rachel, standing from the table. She winked at them and walked over near the stage.

"She really has a mission," laughed Kurt, leaning slightly against Blaine's arm. The small touch meant a lot in a public place. Blaine sighed, wanting to reach out and put an arm around his shoulders.

Rachel returned a few minutes later as another performer took the stage. It was ten minutes later when someone called for her.

"Rachel and Kurt!"

"Rachel!" Blaine looked to her, eyes wide. Kurt looked surprised for a moment, but then shrugged and stood.

"Blaine, it's okay," he said with a laugh.

"I wanted to sing with you!" said Rachel, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the stage. "Save our seats, Blaine!"

As they neared the stage, a few people started to whisper. Kurt was definitely the highest profile celebrity in the room tonight and Blaine could see a few people subtly pull out their phones. Blaine groaned and resisted the urge to rest his head on the table - this would be all over Twitter in no time.

"Hello, everyone!" said Rachel as soon as she was given the microphone. "My name is Rachel Berry and as you may know, this is Kurt Hummel." Kurt waved at the crowd and there was a woop near the back, then laughter. "I hope you enjoy our performance this evening," said Rachel, in her "professional voice" as Blaine called it.

She turned to Kurt to whisper a few words. A bright smile came across his face and he nodded his head with excitement. They stood next to each other as the slow instrumental began and Rachel raised her microphone to sing.

_I'm limited._

_Just look at me._

_I'm limited._

_And just look at you._

_You can do all I never could._

_Glinda..._

_So now it's up to you,_

_For both of us._

_Now it's up to you._

Blaine's heart leapt as the song began. The way Rachel looked at Kurt when she sang was with an expression of pure emotion - the song meant so much to her, he knew. And Kurt, as well. He looked at her, waiting patiently for his part of the song to begin. When it did, Blaine was once again blown away at his voice.

_I've heard it said,_

_That people come into our lives,_

_For a reason._

_Bringing something we must learn._

They continued, the entire room enthralled by the performance. Blaine couldn't believe how amazing their voices were when joined together near the end . Blaine noticed many of the patrons were taping the whole thing on phones.

Really - this was going to be some news.

When they finished, Blaine stood to applaud them. Rachel was grinning like mad, looking out at the audience who was clapping with as much enthusiasm as Blaine. Kurt leaned over and hugged Rachel and she held on for a long moment, they pulled apart and she kissed him on the cheek.

Rachel skipped off the stage and Kurt looked out at the crowd. Rachel was already at their table and had thrown herself at Blaine, hugging him closely.

"That was amazing, oh god - I can't even believe - oh god!"

"So apparently Rachel over there signed me up for another song," said Kurt dryly from the stage. There was smattering applause and he laughed. "So here it goes."

Kurt sang again, going to "I Want to Hold Your Hand" - a favorite of his, Blaine knew. He watched, but also pulled out his phone and logged on to twitter. Out of curiosity, he searched Kurt's twitter name and sure enough, found a few tweets:

_At the Karake bar in LA and __** KurtHummel **__and some girl just sang the best Wicked duet I've ever heard! Sign them up for Broadway! _

_Can't believe I just saw __** KurtHummel **__and a girl named Rachel sing this amazing duet - twitpic: _

Blaine laughed and then passed his phone to Rachel, who took her eyes off Kurt for a moment. She screamed a little and raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh my god."

After Kurt was done he accepted the applause with a few "thank yous" and then began to make his way off the stage - when the person who ran the karaoke stopped him. Kurt's eyebrows rose as he spoke to him and the man brought a microphone to his mouth.

"Blaine?"

Blaine's eyes widened and he looked to Rachel, who was smiling and trying to look innocent.

"You didn't," said Blaine quietly.

"I did!" she giggled.

Blaine stood and glared down at her. "You - you are a piece of work, Miss Berry." He worked his way to the stage, looking at Kurt with a smile and a shrug. They both walked on stage .

"Scratch that - Rachel is actually a horrible person and signed me up for three songs," said Kurt dryly. "After my friend Blaine and I sing for you all, we promise to give you back the stage!"

There were a few sounds of protests at this. Kurt grinned and looked to Blaine. He stepped closer and lowered the mic. "What do you want to sing?" he whispered.

"Um," said Blaine. "I don't know - maybe something that's not really suppose to be a duet? That way no one can - I don't know - think something they shouldn't yet?"

"Good plan," said Kurt with a nod. He thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "You know what we always end up singing over Skype?"

Blaine was confused for a moment, then -

"Oh! Yes! That's perfect." They knew all the parts anyway. They always ended up singing the same parts.

Kurt went over and told the karaoke guy. He came back, smiling over at Blaine and nodding once. He began to sing just before the instrumental began and Blaine looked up at the monitors above the stage for lyrics - though he didn't need them. Instead he looked back to Kurt with a smile as he sang.

_Made a wrong turn_

_once or twice._

_Dug my way out,_

_blood and fire._

They joined in for the chorus and it felt like they were just in each other's rooms, singing together over a computer connection and there was no pressure. He just looked at Kurt and smiled because Kurt was his - and he was Kurt's - how much more perfect could you get?

Blaine took the rap, stepping away from Kurt and looking out at the audience, who began to laugh a bit. He had to admit - it was borderline ridiculous to see a guy in a bowtie rap.

After the rap, they might have stepped too close to finish the song, but Blaine couldn't help it. He'd locked eyes with Kurt and there was nothing else _but _Kurt in the room now - until they finished the song and were met with applause.

Blaine and Kurt left the stage laughing and going back to their table, collapsing in the booth. Rachel commended them on their rendition of the song.

The rest of the night Kurt and Blaine stayed sitting for the most part, only getting up to get more drinks. Rachel decided to go up another time to sing a solo, which was met with equal applause as her duet with Kurt. They sat and talked for hours, ordering a few appetizers to share throughout the night. They finally left the bar late, surprised to run into a few paparazzi waiting outside. (Blaine immediately saw a TMZ logo that actually surprised him).

People were calling out Kurt's name. He had a look of composer on, smiling at them as he offered both of his arms to him and Rachel, which they accepted and walked through the flashing lights to get to their car. He didn't say anything to them or answered their questions - completely cool and collected. It was actually amazing, because Blaine knew he was probably completely shocked in the photos. Or perhaps a completely dumbfounded expression.

One thing was certain, there would be talk about tonight.

0 0 0 0

There was.

Kurt's publicist called him first thing in the morning. Most every press junket wanted a statement about last night about, most surprisingly, his and Blaine's relationship.

"You two weren't exactly subtle in your duet," she said dryly from where the phone rested, on speaker, on the kitchen table. "People are talking about your natural chemistry. The videos from last night have gotten a lot of views already and most of the entertainment sites have already posted them."

Almost more surprising than all that, Kurt's manager called later that day - but this time about Rachel.

"What?" asked Rachel when she mentioned her name, blinking down at the phone.

"There have been quite a few people calling me about you and your voice, Miss Berry," she said, voice amused. "Since they didn't know who your manager was, they called me, being Kurt's - and since you two sang together…"

"Hoped you would be in contact with her," finished Kurt. "Why?"

"They are interested in your show stopping voice," said his manager. "After those videos, both your duet with Kurt and your solo, went viral, it looks like people found your YouTube channel and -

"Oh my god!" said Rachel. "Wait - what?"

"The poster of the video tagged it with your name," said his manager. "You introduced yourself, after all."

Rachel looked like deer caught in the headlines. Kurt's manager and her talked for about ten minutes, and she assured Rachel she would shift through the offers and people wanted to speak to her for her and decide what would be best for her and her career for right now. They hung up and sat around the table in silence.

"My career," said Rachel quietly. "My - _career_."

Then she shot up from the table, running to her room. After a few moments she returned, laptop in hand. She logged on quickly and had a look of concentration - then her mouth fell open.

"What?"

"For one," she said, her voice wavering. "The video of Kurt and I has over 20,000 views. Same for your duet, as well. And my - my channel has over 300 new subscribers. All my video's views have jumped by - oh god - over a thousand. Some of them a few thousand." Her eyes were wide as she continued to take in what was written on the screen. Her eyes were welling up with tears. "Most of them only had five views before."

"Oh my god, Rachel," said Blaine, reaching out to rest his hand on hers.

"And the comments," she said. Blaine could see that she was scanning the screen quickly. Her eyes were welling with tears and for a moment, Blaine expected the worse. She had told Blaine that before, when she posted videos on MySpace, she'd get hateful comments. "They're - they're _nice_, Blaine."

Blaine scooted closer to her, looking over her shoulder at the comments. They really were. There was a particular comment, on what looked to be a video of Rachel at Regionals the first year of New Directions singing "Don't Rain on my Parade" that said she was "the next Barbra Streisand".

"You deserve this Rachel," said Blaine sincerely. Rachel was still staring at her computer, a look of wonder on her face.

For the most part, the three of them hung around the house for the rest of the day, watching movies and making dinner for themselves. Like the other day, they decided to settle into one of the entertainment shows to catch a glimpse of themselves.

It was one of the leading stories of the hour show. Blaine still wasn't used to seeing himself, and Rachel for that matter, on the television, and sat straight up as he saw them.

"_Later, we'll show you video of singer and actor Kurt Hummel's crazy night at - a Karaoke bar? And just who he was caught making heart eyes at on stage." _

"There is no way to stop them thinking I'm not your boyfriend," said Blaine finally, as they tuned out a story about Lindsay Lohan. "I know we decided not to say anything, but that just means they're going to think it."

"Let them think it," said Kurt. "We will tell them they're right on our own terms. If you're - still okay with that."

"Of course I am," said Blaine, nudging him gently with his elbow. He grinned up at him.

When the news came back on, mentioning Kurt's name once more, they all fell quiet and Rachel's eyes went comically wide.

" _- last night singer and actor Kurt Hummel was seen out at a local karaoke hot spot for the Hollywood crowd. With him were two friends, who were seen earlier this week at a LA café with the young star. Twitter and YouTube videos of Kurt's performances went viral early this morning, showcasing both his talent, as well as his previously unknown friends_."

As the voice over spoke, video with the sound low had been playing, as well as photos from them leaving the karaoke bar. When there was a pause in the speaking, the volume of the video was raised, allowing you to hear both Kurt and Rachel sing in the video. They sounded amazing together, as Blaine remembered from last night.

"_This is Rachel Berry, high school student from Lima, Ohio as her own YouTube Channel proclaims. Other videos of her and her admittedly stunning voice are found by the dozen on the channel - she's an unknown besides, but we definitely wouldn't mind hearing more of her." _

Rachel's face lit up at the compliment and Blaine chuckled a bit and nudged her with his foot, which she slapped away.

"_Another duet partner was Blaine Anderson, who we found goes to school with Rachel and they are both in a glee club together_."

The video of last night played for a few seconds and then cut to their Regionals performance were he and Rachel sang together.

"_Besides having a super hot voice, we're definitely jumping on the train that this is Kurt Hummel's boyfriend, who he's been reported to been dating since October of last year - though he and his publicist declined comment. But with these looks _-" The video cut to Blaine and Kurt singing "Perfect," looking at each other intensely. " _- we're pretty sure we don't need one_!"

The news cut to another story and they all let out a breath.

"Well," Kurt said, rolling his eyes. "You were right."

Early the next morning the three teens woke up to drive to San Diego to see Blaine's brother, Cooper. Rachel was still reeling, because her channel and video views had only grown over night.

"People are asking for more videos!" she squeaked with excitement on the way to his brother. "I have to record something soon," she said. "Oh! We should all three sing together," she said with excitement. "Wouldn't that be amazing?"

"Maybe we can ask Cooper, too," said Blaine. "We sang together as kids. He's good."

A few hours later they pulled up to a small, but nice, apartment complex in San Diego. Blaine's brother was a doctor for a veteran's hospital nearby and had been living in California since before he graduated college. It was far, but then, when Cooper had been 18 that's exactly what he had wanted.

"Little brother!" exclaimed Cooper when he opened the door. He pulled Blaine into a tight hug and Blaine laughed, patting him on the back as he fell into the hug.

"Hey Coop," he said.

"This must be your boyfriend," said Cooper after they had broken the hug.

"Kurt," he said, holding out his hand for Cooper to shake.

"Good thing I don't get too star struck," Cooper said with a wide, toothy grin. "Although maybe I should - it's not everyday you see your brother on TV." He punched Blaine playfully in the shoulder. Blaine rolled his eyes and introduced Rachel, who had been staring at Cooper with her mouth slightly open since he'd opened the door.

Cooper ushered them all in so they could settle in to the guest rooms, since the drive would be too long to make the way back tonight. Cooper only had a two bedroom apartment, since he lived alone (he was, as he called it, "the eternal bachelor").

"The hobbits can take the double bed in the guest room," said Cooper as he lead them down the hall. Rachel and Blaine look affronted, but he teased them. "Never thought I'd be pushing my baby brother into bed with a girl." He shook his head. "Hope you don't mind the couch, Kurt. I know it's not ideal…"

"It's fine, Cooper," said Kurt. "Really - it was nice of you to let us stay for the night."

"Couldn't let you drive home after driving here," he said. "Besides - that would mean having to leave earlier and less time spent with my brother." He threw an arm over Blaine's shoulder, pulling him closer and ruffling his hair (then purposefully wiping his hand on his jeans).

They spent the rest of the day catching up with Cooper at lunch and around a few of Cooper's favorite spots. Cooper talked Blaine into coming to his work so he could show him off to the nurses and other doctors he worked with as his "baby brother," along with is boyfriend and best friend (who most of the nurses recognized and cooed over).

Blaine had forgotten how much he had missed his brother. Being so far apart in years, he often felt like a part time only child back home with his parents. His brother had always been pretty fun to hang around with, though like all siblings they had their differences. In general, they just were so _different_, that Blaine found they didn't clash as often. Cooper had been a singer as well, but it was only a hobby for him. Science and medicine were where his strength and passion lay, while Blaine barely liked science enough to skate by in school and was a bit squeamish to be honest. He was pretty sure that because of this, because they didn't have the same likes, they couldn't step on each others' toes. They could get along.

Like Blaine had mentioned, Cooper was game to sing with the three of them.

"Maybe I can give up this doctor thing and become an actor," he said as Rachel put her camera on a tripod in front of the living room couch.

"I don't think that would be the best idea, Coop," said Blaine.

After a little bit of rehearsing their parts, Rachel recorded them all singing a four part version of "Bad Day" by Daniel Powder to a piano instrumental Rachel found online once they decided on a song. It was a little rough, but they laughed their way through and ended up having a lot of fun. Rachel uploaded the video, looking visibly nervous.

"It's funny, all I've wanted was people to see these videos, but I uploaded those when no one was watching," she said. "There was no pressure."

"There doesn't have to be pressure in this if you don't want it," said Kurt. "It's just about you, having fun. You have to forget about the people watching after a while."

Rachel looked over to Kurt with a look of relief. If anyone knew anything about this, it would be Kurt. She nodded and pushed "upload" before walking away from her computer to join the boys on the couch to watch a movie and eat popcorn.

The next morning Kurt woke to his phone ringing. He reached out blindly on the coffee table for his phone, finally grabbing it and raising it to his ear.

"Hello?"

Since it was his manager and it was just before 7 am by the look on the clock, he knew it must be pretty important. He pushed himself up into a sitting position with a sigh and listened to her.

"It's about Rachel. And Blaine," she said.

"Yes?"

Kurt listened intently as she spoke, his mouth dropping wide open. "Oh my -" He pushed himself off the couch and ran down the hall. He burst into the guest room, where Rachel was sprawled on the bed without covers on, looking like she was half on top of a curled up Blaine.

"Wake up!" he said, jumping onto the bed. Rachel squeaked and jumped awake and Blaine groaned, pulling a pillow over his head. Kurt reached for it, pulling it away.

"Kuuuuurt," he said. Blaine blinked his eyes slowly. "It's - oh god, it's not even 7 in the morning - Rachel isn't even up yet."

"You guys will want to hear this. My manager - and yours, for the time being - is on the phone. You'll never guess who wants Rachel to come on her show today. " He paused dramatically, watching as Rachel sat up, looking at him in confusion, mouthing the word 'show'. "Ellen."

"Ellen - as in - the Ellen _show_." Rachel gaped at him and Blaine finally sat up like a rocket, eyes alert now.

"Yes! She had a cancellation for her second guest slot and she's always looking for fresh talent and YouTube stars to be on the show. She loves me, obviously," said Kurt, rolling his eyes. "And saw you perform and all your videos and she wants you, on the show, _today_. Well, the recording is today and the show would air tomorrow."

"Oh my - oh my god!" Rachel jumped up in bed, almost stumbling. She jumped up and down giggling and shrieking with excitement.

"And Blaine - my manager said she's gotten calls for you, too," said Kurt, turning to his boyfriend. "There was like, this guy who owns a recording label at the karaoke bar and he really, really liked you. He wants to speak with you as soon as possible!"

"_Me_?" asked Blaine.

"Blaine!" Rachel shrieked and pulled him up with her, holding his hands tightly in his. "Blaine we're doing it! We're living the _dream_!" They jumped up and down together, though Blaine was still in a daze. Kurt sat laughing on the ground, where he had fallen after Rachel started jumping on the bed. He held his phone up to his ear and spoke a few words to his manager, then hung up.

"What the hell are you people _on_?" grumbled Cooper from the doorway in a pair of boxer shorts. His hair was disheveled and he had one lone sock on.

"I'm going to be on the Ellen show!" exclaimed Rachel. "And Blaine - Blaine might be a recording artist!"

"Rachel - he just wants to talk to me," laughed Blaine, pulling her off the bed by picking her up at the waist. She giggled and kicked until he sat her on the ground. "I haven't signed a contract in blood or anything."

They filled in Cooper on the way to the kitchen, where he made coffee. When he finally took a few steps and was debriefed, he was just as excited as Rachel. After coffee Kurt insisted they had to get ready and drive back to LA for the Ellen taping in the afternoon. There was a flurry of activity in getting dressed and everything packed in just under an hour. Cooper and Blaine hugged goodbye, then Kurt and Rachel stepped up for their turns. They were on the road and on their way to Ellen, a ball of nervous energy, in no time.


	10. Chapter 10

**This is the last official chapter - after this there will only be an epilogue! :D I hope you like. **

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As soon as they got to Kurt's apartment, Rachel flew into the guest bathroom to shower. Blaine went to Kurt's bathroom to shower and when he came back to guest room Rachel was in nothing but a towel, no shame, and looking between a half dozen dresses laid out on her bed.

"Blaine!" she said, pulling him over. "Help me choose! Kurt helped me narrow it down but I just don't _know_."

Finally the found something - a cute, but more mature fitting light pink dress and a pair of black flats. Since Kurt had all but taken away all of Rachel's knee length socks, the outfit made her look like a trendy, mature young adult. After Kurt had gotten dressed and insisted to Rachel that the Ellen Show staff would help with her makeup and hair, they went off to Warner Brothers studio for the taping.

They were ushered through security after a tall man checked over his headpiece, since Rachel was a new addition to the show today, then handed over to a busy looking blonde woman with a similar headset and clipboard. She seemed to know Kurt from his previous interviews on the show and greeted him warmly. Kurt introduced her to Rachel and Blaine, then Rachel was taken to hair and make up while Blaine and Kurt were left in the guest dressing room.

Rachel appeared thirty minutes later, with just a bit more make up on then she usually wore so her face wouldn't be completely lost on camera. She was fidgeting after coming back to the room, not staying in one place for long. She sat next to Blaine for a few minutes, holding his hand, then stood to pace.

"What am I even going to talk about?" asked Rachel. "Oh god. I'm not _famous_."

"Rachel, relax," said Kurt calmly. "Ellen is a professional. She'll know what to ask you - all you have to do is give an honest answer. If you don't want to answer something personal - which I doubt she'll even ask - then just politely talk around it. You'll be just fine. Your interview will be shorter than the first guest, just under 5 minutes or so. She will probably play one of your videos, too."

"Rachel, this is a talk show," added Blaine. "If anyone knows how to talk, it's you." This earned a laugh from Rachel, which Blaine considered a victory.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Rachel jumped and Kurt called for them to come in. The door opened and Ellen - _Ellen _- walked just inside the door with a wide smile.

"Kurt Hummel, it's great to see you again," she said when she saw him. Kurt rose from his chair and walked over to hug her, then kiss her cheek.

"It's always a pleasure to see you, too," said Kurt. "And of course, you know my friends - Rachel Berry and Blaine Anderson."

Both Rachel and Blaine before now were staring wide eyed at the talk show host. Ellen turned to them, an inviting smile on her face as she reached out to shake their hands, then hug them. "I'm so glad you could make it on short notice," said Ellen as she separated from a speechless Rachel. "I have to say, I love your voice - you have some talent there."

"I - wow - thank you," said Rachel breathlessly.

"I just wanted to make sure you're all comfortable and ready to go on. The show starts in ten minutes and you'll be taken out to the wings by Shelly during what would be the commercial break time period before your interview. Kurt and Blaine, you two can watch from in here, or go stand backstage and watch from the sides."

"Thank you," said Kurt.

"And hey - don't look like I'm going to bit! I don't - much," said Ellen with a laugh, nudging Rachel. Rachel smiled. "I know this is probably your first interview so I'll go easy on you. I won't have anything creep up behind you or anything - scout's honor!"

"I - thank you so much," said Rachel, looking relieved.

Once Ellen had left, they all settled in to watch the live broadcast from the TV screen on the wall. After the first guest had done their interview almost 45 minutes later (since it was broadcasted live, there were a few breaks in between bits with Ellen) Shelly knocked on the door to come get Rachel.

She led them to the side, and pointed to Kurt and Blaine where they should stand to watch the show, next to a few other people who worked on the show. There was a small break where Ellen was getting her make up touched up and then sat back down on her chair. The camera man was doing a few signals and then the house lights dimmed, alerting the audience to applaud.

"My next guest is some what of an upcoming star - she has dozens of videos on YouTube showcasing her amazing voice and just a few days ago took the stage with actor and singer Kurt Hummel covering a duet from the Broadway show "Wicked" - take a look here!" said Ellen. The screen behind her lit up with a good quality video of Rachel and Kurt singing together at the karaoke bar. A few seconds later it had disappeared and Ellen was smiling down at her monitor. "Please welcome Rachel Berry!"

Ellen stood as the music began to play - "Call Me Maybe" - and Rachel came out, her smile blinding as she waved shyly out at the audience. She walked to where Ellen stood, reaching out to hug her again. They stood at their chairs, doing a little dance that ended up in Rachel letting out a loud laugh.

The music faded when they sat down, Rachel's smile never failing. She was a showman, after all.

"Hi there Rachel," said Ellen.

"Hi Ellen," said Rachel, as if she couldn't believe where she was right now - even Blaine standing backstage couldn't believe he was watching his best friend filming a television interview.

"So things have been happening pretty quickly for you this week, haven't they?" asked Ellen. "Your previously uploaded YouTube videos have gone up in hits since you did your duet with Kurt Hummel, right?"

"Oh yes," said Rachel excitedly. "I swear to you, most of them had like, 5 views if any. Maybe one was mine, another my friend Blaine's - my family members and that's it, really. It was so amazing to see them jump the next day - and all the positive feedback. I never really have gotten that online."

"With a voice like yours - really?"

"Oh yes," said Rachel. "I mean, I'm not the prettiest girl at my school and Glee club - that's a show choir I'm in at my school - isn't popular at all."

"Well something tells me it's about to be," joked Ellen and the audience laughed with her. Rachel laughed as well and nodded. "So you're not from here, right? You're from Ohio?"

"Yes, Lima," said Rachel. "I'm a senior at McKinley high school."

"And you're in Glee club there? Is singing your thing?"

"It is," gushed Rachel. "I've been singing and performing since I was very, very young. My dads really spoiled me in the arts that way - I owe them a lot for that, because I'll never get to Broadway without it."

"Dads?" said Ellen, looking surprised. Blaine figured she hadn't had too much time to brush up on Rachel. There probably wasn't much information out there to begin with.

"Yes, I have two dads," said Rachel brightly. "They used a surrogate - to this day we don't really even know who is my biological dad, which I think is special." Blaine held back a laugh at this - of course Rachel knew who her dad was - it was hard to miss, considering Hiram was white and Leroy is black. But she loved to say it anyway.

"Wow," said Ellen, looking genuinely impressed. "I'm sure growing up with two dads in Ohio of all places isn't - uh, easy."

"I'm so proud of them for that, though," said Rachel. "Really, we do live in a homophobic, conservative town and at times I know my friend, who is also gay, gets a lot of bullying for it - but he's in Glee club with me and we're all family and accept each other no matter what. It's the only reason a girl like me has friends in the first place."

"Is that Blaine Anderson, the other boy at the Karaoke bar the other night?" asked Ellen. "I have to say, he's cute."

"He is - and almost as talented as me," said Rachel, to which people laughed, not realizing it was just the way Rachel was and not really a joke.

"So you have plans for Broadway?"

"It's my dream," said Rachel. "To go to New York and star in shows - though this is the first time I've been to California, and I love it too - New York is the city for me. It felt like home the moment I visited last year. I just hope I can work hard enough to achieve my dream of Broadway."

"Well I definitely think you have the chops - thanks so much for being on the show today, Rachel."

"Thank you - it's just a dream," said Rachel. "My dads sort of love you and I can't even imagine their faces when they watch this."

Ellen laughed. "Well, I love them back." Ellen turned to the camera and listed off who was on the show tomorrow and to tune in for the end of the show. Then the camera panned back and the recording lights were switched off.

After a few seconds talking with Ellen, Rachel walked to where Blaine and Kurt were sitting. She flew into Blaine's arms, hugging him tightly. She was shaking - from nerves or excitement, Blaine wasn't sure.

"That was - amazing," said Rachel. "I can't believe that just happened, Blaine."

"Me neither!" said Blaine with a laugh.

About thirty minutes later they had gotten all their things together and left the studio, still talking excitedly about Rachel's interview and how they could watch it on TV tomorrow.

Also tomorrow, which Blaine was bursting with nerves with, was his meeting with a recording label.

The next morning Blaine was woken by soft kisses against his lips and the side of his chin, all the way down his neck. He shivered as he was brought into consciousness, Kurt making a pleased sound where he was kissing Blaine's neck.

"Good morning," he mumbled against Blaine's skin. Blaine slowly realized their legs were tangled under the blankets, Kurt's hand ghosting over the thin material of Blaine's tank top.

"Yes, definitely good," said Blaine before he'd thought through the words. He blushed at them but Kurt just chuckled.

He pressed another kiss up Blaine's chin, then on his lips. Blaine worried if his morning breath was horrible, but at the same time, thought it was nice that Kurt didn't seem to care. "I like this," said Kurt after he pulled away, his hot breath fanning over Blaine's wet lips.

"What?"

"Waking up next to you." Kurt kissed the corner of Blaine's lips. "I know we haven't - I know we're not ready for that yet," he said, cheeks turning red. "But this - this where we are for now and I really like it. I can't help but think -"

Kurt cut himself off, looking embarrassed. "Wait, what?" asked Blaine, nudging Kurt with his toe. "Come on. You can tell me anything."

"I can't help but think about doing this everyday," mumbled Kurt. "When you're here next year. I - I like that more than I can even explain."

Blaine's stomach flipped pleasantly. Waking up in Kurt's arms every morning, walking around Kurt's kitchen in the morning and sipping coffee together - being together more than a few days at a time - it was an amazing thought.

"I can't wait either," said Blaine. "God, I'm so glad I'm graduating early." He pulled Kurt closer to him, kissing him deeply.

Almost twenty minutes later they pulled each other out of bed and to the kitchen. Rachel already brewed a pot of coffee and was sipping her own cup and staring at her computer.

After a light breakfast, everyone got ready and were on their way to the record company - it was a bit smaller than the big labels, and according to Kurt's manager, signed both indie and more mainstream names. It was called "Crescendo Records" and Steve James was the man who owned it and saw Blaine sing.

Kurt's manager met them in the lobby and they were all brought to a large room for the meeting. After only a few minutes of sitting there waiting, Steve James walked in - he was a man of medium built with light grey hair and bright red glasses frames, dressed comfortably and stylishly in a suit without a tie. He shook everyone's hand, even Rachel's, who was just there to accompany them.

"I wanted to get right to business," said Steve, who insisted to be called such after Blaine called him "Mr. James". "Blaine - you got an amazing voice and you have the confident air and look to make it in this industry. Besides your duet with Kurt, I've seen all the videos we can find on you from YouTube. There are some of you singing with the acapella group and with Miss Berry over there. I am impressed - you have a wide range."

"Thank you," said Blaine, still a bit starstruck by this whole ordeal.

"When do you graduate, Blaine?" asked Steve.

"This May," he answered. "I'm graduating early, technically."

"That's good," said Steve. He was silent for a few beats, then nodded. "Blaine, I wanted to seriously offer you a recording contract with my label. We haven't exactly had a big hit yet, but I think that you have that potential to put us on the map."

Blaine looked from Steve to Kurt, then to Rachel with wide eyes. "Are you serious?" asked Blaine. "Me?"

"Yes," said Steve, a small smile playing on his lips. "Since you don't graduate until May, we could get together some song writers until then to craft an album - unless you write yourself - and be ready to record over the summer. Have it produced and out by late this year or early next and hit the streets with promotion. We could probably get a single out on the radio locally, and if we can get it out there enough, it could break through to mainstream. You already have buzz surrounding you." His eyes looked over to Kurt, who smiled and nodded. "I believe we could make this happen. Only if you want it, though."

"I - I think I do," said Blaine. He looked to Rachel, remembering their conversation that seemed to be years ago. He hadn't been sure what he really wanted then for his future - he still didn't know exactly - but he knew he wanted Kurt in it. This could be a serious way to be in California for the long haul and make sure his future was set to do so. He remembered what Rachel had said - that he could do anything he wanted.

Maybe he could.

Blaine looked over to Kurt's manager - she was basically his at this moment, after all, all that was left was some contracts - and she nodded. "I think it would be a good idea, Blaine. Of course, there should be paperwork sent to me and I can look it over on Blaine's behalf. Make sure everything is in order."

"Of course," said Steve.

"And I can't write," said Blaine. "Well, I've never considered myself a song writer. I would have to have songs written for me - though I'd be interested in the writing process. I know how to play piano and guitar, if that helps."

"He can use my song!" burst out Rachel, who then blushed.

"Rachel?"

"I have a song. It's called 'Get it Right'," she said. "I think - I think it would fit you well, Blaine."

"Are you sure?" asked Blaine. He reached over and placed his hand on Rachel's. He knew how close that song was to her heart. It was about Finn and everything in her life that didn't seem to be going right last year, before they knew each other. It was personal.

"I'm not going to really use it," said Rachel. "I'm meant for Broadway, not writing and recording songs for a CD - you can use it."

"I'd love to hear this song," said Steve. They promptly pulled it up on a screen in the room - the video of Rachel performing it at Regionals last year - and Steve looked impressed. "I think this would suit Blaine here…the key will have to be changed, obviously, but I could see it being the second single. It's always better to go with a more upbeat first single, but this will definitely make it on the album if you want it."

They talked for at least another half hour and Steve made sure that he would be sending out the contract to Kurt's manger. It wasn't a done deal quite yet, but Blaine walked out of Crescendo Recordings, knowing that he was steps away from being a signed recording artist.

It was happening.

The next day Blaine and Rachel boarded a plane back to Lima, a long goodbye for both of them to Kurt at his apartment before parting.

The next Monday at school, everyone stared at both Rachel and Blaine as they walked into school. Rachel's interview had aired the day after she filmed it, all of them gathered around the television and watching it - and afterwards she called her dads and gushed. Everyone from back home had been texting or calling them, freaking out for the most part.

It seemed like most everyone had either seen the interview, heard about it, or seen the videos of the karaoke bar.

Ellen was right - suddenly, they weren't the least popular people in the school anymore.

Rachel was ecstatic, soaking in all the attention she was getting. People asked her a few questions about Ellen and Kurt, but for the most part, it was stares and whispers and rumors. It was both exciting and unnerving for Blaine.

He didn't have much focus to waste, though, because it was back to his busy scheduled of balancing school, glee club and talking to Kurt at night. His manager (now Blaine's as well, as of the day he left, since that paper work had been signed) was still going over the contract for the record label. It would be sent to Blaine soon so he could sign it and it would be official.

To add to add to everything else before Spring Break, they were all worrying about Nationals. The seniors wanted to win now more than ever and both the tension and excitement was palpable in the air of the choir room and everyone could feel it. Some relief was senior skip day, which Blaine was happy to attend - even the underclassmen of the glee club came to the theme park to goof off for a day and it gave Blaine a three day weekend to devote to homework and a full day of talking to Kurt on Skype.

Soon the contract had been sent to Blaine and he signed it quickly. He was officially going to put out an album. He had already talked it over with his parents, and while they were wary, they accepted this was what he would be doing. Blaine promised them that if nothing had come of the record in two years, he would go back to school - though he was still considering taking classes come fall no matter what.

Things seemed to fast forward from there.

Nationals was in Chicago this year. Everyone in the show choir circuit was abuzz when they arrived, seeing as Rachel was still rising in her "internet stardom". She posted a video every week, either a solo or a duet she made Blaine or another member of Glee club sing with her.

Their set list was amazing, if Blaine said so himself. Every senior had a spot light at least once in all the songs and Blaine soaked up the moment - his last moment performing with his friends on a high school stage.

Kurt hadn't been able to come. As it was, his script had been finished a few weeks ago and his manger was in the process of finding a film company to pick it up. They focused on smaller companies and directors, since there would be a better chance there. It seemed possible, according to Kurt, though he was nervous. So instead Rachel's dads were there, camcorder in hand to record the performance and sent to Kurt later.

They won Nationals - _finally_. Everyone almost couldn't believe it. They entered the school the next day, huge trophy in hand, met with a celebration in the hallway. The student body had begun to warm up to the Glee club ever since Rachel was on Ellen, and it looked like they were really starting to accept them. Blaine hoped this would make it easier to rebuild the glee club next year, since they would need more members to compete after half of them graduated.

Then suddenly, it was graduation. It had been a long, emotional week, saying goodbye to all his underclassmen friends and most of the upperclassmen too. So far, only Mercedes was for sure coming out to LA. Puck was still thinking about coming as well, and Rachel was heading for New York. Since she was still running on a high from her internet stardom, her new manager, a friend of Kurt's who was located in New York, was going to start getting her auditions for Off-Broadway. If she couldn't nail down a good living in a few years, she would go to school or something - but she was going to take a few risks now.

Which meant living on different coasts.

Blaine had already gotten ready at his house and said goodbye to his parents, who would be meeting him at the school for graduation, and went to Kurt's house where Rachel and Kurt were waiting for him.

Blaine greeted Kurt with a long kiss, since it was their first time together since Spring Break, only breaking apart at Burt's cough. Burt and Carole took photos of Finn, Rachel and Blaine separately and then in every possible combination.

"Dad, take a photo of Rachel, Blaine and I," said Kurt, handing over his phone to his dad. Burt fumbled with it for a few moments before Carole took it from him with a small pat on his hand. She snapped the photo and Kurt took back the camera.

"You're tweeting that, aren't you?" asked Blaine dryly.

"Of course."

Blaine's phone buzzed in his pocket and he dug it out from under his robe.

** KurtHummel:** _I'm so proud of my friends __** RachelBerry **__and __** BlaineA **__who are graduating high school today! :D _

"You are too cute," said Blaine, looking up from his phone and leaning over to kiss Kurt again.

Burt and Carole hurried everyone out of the house so they could make it to graduation. It was a fun ceremony and seemed to be over quickly. Blaine was the first to be called, his last name the first on the list of course, and could wear he heard Kurt's whistle in the front row.

Afterwards, Blaine introduced his parents, Cooper with them who had flown in for graduation, to Kurt and his dad. Blaine's dad seemed mildly disinterested, but was at least mostly polite. His mother greeted Kurt warmly enough and spoke to both Carole and Burt for a few minutes.

Then everyone in Glee club, Kurt in tow, when to celebrate at a local diner, since Breadstix would probably be bursting with other graduates. Blaine and Kurt were inseparable, happy that no cameras were around to watch their movements on this night.

Blaine went to bed, knowing that just around the corner was his big move to California. After a long chat with both Burt and Kurt, and separately with his parents, it was worked out that Blaine would move in with Kurt in his apartment. Though they realized that if the media caught on, they would definitely have more rumors circulating about the nature of their relationship, they didn't care. They weren't in the physical side of their relationship quite yet, mostly because they were never in the same state long enough to really explore or commit to such things, but Blaine and Kurt had spoken about it and both knew it was a matter of time.

Blaine loved Kurt - that's all he needed to know - and he wanted to keep his promise and wake up to him every morning.

One week after graduation, Blaine packed up his entire wardrobe, odds and ends and everything that wasn't furniture. Most of it would be shipped to California, save for two suitcases he was taking on the plane. He said goodbye to his parents that morning, promising to call at least once a week and let them know what was going on and not to have them have to find out from the television or something crazy, then was picked up by Kurt and driven to his house.

At the Hummel's house was everyone from glee, including Mr. Shuester, Mrs. Pilsbury and Brad. There were a round of emotional and tearful goodbyes and tight hugs. Even Brad seemed sad to see him go, though he still didn't say anything. Despite having piano lessons twice a week for the last semester, Brad was still as silent as always - but he was a friend.

All of the girls cried when the hugged Blaine good-bye, Tina, Sugar and Rachel the most. Mercedes was going to be joining him in LA in a few weeks, as a backup singer at a record label to provide vocals. She was going to crash at Kurt's place until she found an apartment of her own, which Blaine was excited about. He'd never spent much time with her and Kurt seemed excited about shopping with the girl.

"You guys take care of yourself," Burt finally said, hugging both of them just as tight. "And take care of each other."

Kurt and Blaine took a taxi to the airport after the goodbyes, holding hands up until they had to get out. There were no cameras on this end, but when they landed at LAX, there were more than enough. They kept a respectful distance from one another as they made their way to the car, smiling to the cameras as they went.

"Welcome to your new life," said Kurt once they were in the car and on their way to their apartment. He bumped his shoulder and pressed up against his side.

"I couldn't be happier to be here," said Blaine.


	11. Chapter 11

**We have reached the end! Oh dear! See my AN at the bottom after you read. Enjoy! **

**2 and a half months later: New York City**

"Rachel is almost ready," said Blaine, slipping his cell phone back into his suit pocket, double checking to make sure it was on silent mode first. "She's being dropped off just as soon as she puts her shoes on."

"I hope she wears something sensible, yet still eye-catching," said Kurt with a frown. "It's her first big event, after all, and she's going to realize how long that red carpet can be."

"I'm sure she chose wisely," said Blaine. "It's Rachel."

"True."

Blaine laughed, scooting closer to Kurt and resting his head on his shoulder, careful not to mess up his hair in the process. "You ready for this? It's a pretty big step."

"I am," said Kurt, sounding quite confident about it all. "I mean, people already assume. This is just confirming what they've thought for months."

"True," said Blaine, in a similar tone that Kurt had just used for the same statement. He reached down to play with the ring on Kurt's hand, which hadn't left his finger for more than a few minutes since Christmas. "I'm still nervous. I've never been on a red carpet before, let alone dropped big news on one."

"Get used to it. After you drop your album in a few months, I'm sure you'll be on plenty," teased Kurt.

"Will you be by my side?"

"Always."

"We're here, Mr. Hummel; Mr. Anderson," said the driver from the front of the car. Kurt looked out the window, nodding at the people rushing outside. He could already see the bright flashes from cameras.

"This is the best place we could come out as a couple," said Kurt, turning back to Blaine, who had grown slightly pale at the sight. "People here will accept us no matter what."

"I know," said Blaine. He took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's do this."

Kurt opened the door of the car, stepping out in one fluid motion. He heard the sounds around him - from fans and interviewers - that told him they had seen him already. Kurt turned around, offering a hand to Blaine.

Blaine reached out, shaky, but held firm to his hand. Kurt helped him out of the car, then adjusted their hands so they were clutched tightly together. The sounds of the cameras clicking in rapid secession was almost deafening, paired with all the people calling out their names (mostly Kurt's at the moment, though he could hear a few "Blaines!" in the mix).

Kurt pulled Blaine with him, pausing to take photos down the line of photographers. They all ate up their joint hands and the way they dropped them at some point, putting arms around each others' waists to pose.

Once that was over, Kurt heard Blaine breath a sigh of relief as they entered a lull between the photos and interviews.

"Halfway done," said Kurt. "We got this." Blaine sent him a grateful smile.

The first microphone they walked to, being pointed to by Kurt and Blaine's handler, was for E! news. The interviewer was a younger woman, who greeted them warmly. She looked to the camera, introducing them before turning to them once again.

"Hello you two!" she said. "I'm so glad you could attend the Trevor Project Live here in New York with us tonight!"

"We're happy to be here," said Kurt. "I always love coming to Trevor Live, but I haven't been to the New York event in two years. It's nice to be back."

"Of course, of course," said the woman. "And okay, I have to ask, because there has been rumors speculating about who Kurt Hummel's boyfriend is for months, and then quite a few around you, Blaine - and here you are, holding hands - a girl jumps to a few conclusions. So, spill?"

Kurt grinned and looked to Blaine, who was putting on a confident façade at the moment. "Well," he said, dragging out the word. "I'd be lying if I said Blaine wasn't my boyfriend, wouldn't I?"

"Oh my god, that is so adorable," she said. Kurt knew she had just bagged the story of her career so far, getting the first confirmation of a dating couple. "Why the sudden truthfulness on the subject?"

"We didn't really want to show off our private lives too much," said Blaine, taking over with an easy smile. "I was still in high school when we started dating, and no where near California where Kurt was living, so it was just easier to keep it under wraps. But now it seems like, well, it's going to come out sooner or later and we're definitely not ashamed to admit it."

"Quite the opposite," said Kurt with a nod. "And we felt like here, among friends and allies, would be the best place for news like this."

"I completely agree," said the woman. "I wish all the best to the both of you and I hope you have a fantastic night!"

"Thank you," chorused Kurt and Blaine before moving on to the next interviewer.

After that, most of them asked about their relationship, which they were able to smooth over quickly from there. They were both on highs from being here, together, and proudly open with their hands clasped. Many of the interviewers asked about their career plans.

"My movie is going into pre-production right now," said Kurt with a sly smile. "I wrote it and will be staring in it and I'm so excited to get started. It doesn't have any direct LGBTQ themes to it - but that is just the point I wanted to make. I was always turned down for more masculine, straight roles because of what I look like. I'm no different than Neil Patrick Harris, who everyone seems to be comfortable watching play straight. We're both actors and I just want to showcase that it shouldn't matter what you are, as long as you play the role well."

Blaine even got to talk about his own plans.

"I'm recording an album right now," he said. "I can't believe it. It's with Crescendo Records and I'm having a fun time working with songwriters right now, talking about what I want to sing about and learning a few things as well. One day I would love to write my own things. I'm actually using a song my friend Rachel Berry - who should be around here somewhere - wrote when we were in high school. It's a beautiful ballad and I can't wait for people to hear it."

They finally found Rachel as well, speaking to an interviewer with excited hand motions.

"I've only been in the city since my graduation almost three months ago, but I've just started rehearsing for a music off-Broadway. I'm learning so many things that I hope to one day take to the bright lights of Broadway."

Kurt and Blaine greeted Rachel in the middle of her interview, not able to hold back any longer. Blaine hadn't seen her since the goodbye at Kurt's house and their moves to separate coasts. They crashed the rest of Rachel's interview and then moved inside to the main event a few minutes before it began.

About halfway into the event, all three of them stole away backstage to get their mics to perform.

When Blaine and Rachel were invited along with Kurt to sing at Trevor Live, it was another one of those "pinch me" moments that had been happening more and more often lately. It was almost obviously, however, when Blaine thought of it. Kurt was just as famous as ever, with the added buzz of becoming a writer for his own movie. Rachel was still uploading videos on YouTube and her following was rising, plus she was about to start climbing up the ladder of performance in New York City. Then there was Blaine, about to be a recording artist. Add the fact that all of them had LGBTQ ties and in Rachel's case, already quite vocal about how she wanted to be involved with the community, it was obvious.

When Blaine walked on stage with his boyfriend and best friend, however, all this thought couldn't prepare him for what waited for him.

Everyone had eyes on them, whooping and clapping as they walked on in excitement after the announcer said their names.

The slower melody began as the band in the pit began to play, Rachel taking a deep breath before she began to sing, emotion written plainly on her face.

"_Da Da Da Da_

_The smell of your skin lingers on me now_

_You're probably on your flight back to your home town_

_I need some shelter of my own protection baby_

_To be with myself and center, clarity_

_Peace, Serenity"_

Kurt walked up to her side, looking down at her with a comforting smile and reaching over to give her a side hug with the arm not holding the microphone as he sang the next few lines by himself.

"_I hope you know, I hope you know_

_That this has nothing to do with you_

_It's personal, myself and I_

_We've got some straightenin' out to do"_

Blaine joined in with Rachel's voice, their tones mixing together well as he stepped up to join her and Kurt in line, slipping his hand into Kurt's.

"_And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket_

_But I've got to get a move on with my life_

_It's time to be a big girl now_

_And big girls don't cry_

_Don't cry_

_Don't cry_

_Don't cry"_

The repeated the chorus together once more, separating on the stage again and singing out to the audience in front of them. Then they got to Blaine's favorite part of the song - the part he had been waiting for. Kurt sang first, walking toward Blaine with an alluring smile as he reaching out his hand toward Blaine again.

"_Like the little school mate in the school yard_

_We'll play jacks and uno cards_

_I'll be your best friend and you'll be my Valentine"_

They laced their fingers together and Blaine gravitated toward Kurt, stepping closer to him than he would have ever dared to do in pubic. But now they were together to everyone - this was something Blaine could do whenever he wanted. Kurt was his boyfriend - and the world knew it. He couldn't help the smile and laugh that followed into his part of the verse, spreading to Kurt, whose face scrunched up in delight.

"_Yes you can hold my hand if you want to_

_'Cause I want to hold yours too_

_We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds"_

Blaine could hear the light applause that followed this part of the song, the encouraging whoops and cheers made Blaine laughed as Rachel started her verse. They rejoined in the center of the stage, all holding hands as they ended the song. Rachel hugged Blaine's side as the song faded out, then looked out to the thundering applause and waved happily - she was in her element.

Blaine turned to Kurt, slipping his arms around his waist and pulling him down slightly to press a soft, barely there, kiss to his lips. That, as predicted, gained more response from the crowd. Blaine giggled away from Kurt's lips, pressing his forehead to Kurt's for a moment, before detangling himself from his body and reaching out for Kurt's hand again. He took it, and grabbed Rachel, walking off stage as the next presenter of the night shuffled on.

The rest of the night was a blur of camaraderie and plain _fun_. Blaine was able to meet some of his idols - Jesse Tyler Ferguson, NPH and David Burtka - and really have some thoughtful conversation with them. They commended him on being so young, as well as out and proud. He and Kurt were asked about their relationship many times, but it was fun to talk about that. They withheld some - they needed some privacy, after all - but were happy to share. Everyone who asked tonight was genuinely happy for them. In the future, that might not be the case, but for tonight, it was enough.

0

June 28th 2012

** KurtHummel: **

_** BlaineA **__I'm going on a hot date tonight - have any suggestions for what I should wear? ;) _

** BlaineA: **

_** KurtHummel **__Oh man, lucky guy. ;) Well you look good in everything. Maybe that grey suit that's been in the back of your closet for the last month? _

** KurtHummel**:

_**BlaineA **__What would I do without you. And oh yes, completely lucky. But here's a secret: I'm the lucky one, too. 3 _

_Fin_

**Obviously I apologize for twitter names not having that "at" symbol - FF gets rid of them. But wow! There it is. It's DONE. I can't believe it. Thanks for reading and sticking with me all this time! I know there were some long waits because of school, and I know how frustrating that can be, so thank you! To answer any reviews I will probably get - I won't be continuing anything as of now! If something dire about their future came to me that I just had to write, I will, but it probably will not happen. It's up to you, now, to imagine what will happen come Blaine's CD, Kurt's Movie, and Rachel's potential Broadway career! **

**Love you all, mwah! **


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